Central Crime Branch busts fake health cards racket in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The Bengaluru Police's Central Crime Branch (CCB) busted a racket that floated fake companies to create health cards for availing government medical benefits, officials said on Monday.

The CCB's Organised Crime Wing (OCW) has booked Sridhara, Ramesh, Shivaganga, Shwetha, Shashikala and others, all residents of Bengaluru, as per the FIR.

Acting on a tip-off, crime branch investigators visited the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital in Rajajinagar and found that the suspects had registered several fake companies, created fake documents and registered the ESIC cards.

The probe found that the suspects obtained Rs 10,000, Rs 20,000 and Rs 2,00,000 for preparing the cards and further sought Rs 500 each every month as “fees to be paid to the government”. Investigators also found that Shashikala, an auditor, had been providing the cards at her office in Yeshwantpur for the last two years.

"We registered the case on November 8,” a CCB officer said. “Further probe is underway and efforts are on to nab the suspects."