IPS Anukriti Sharma To Be Honoured For Exposing Rs 100-Crore Insurance Scam

IPS officer Anukriti Sharma, a member of the 2020 batch, will be honoured for exposing a fake insurance scam worth more than Rs 100 crore. The scam, uncovered during her posting in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district, reportedly extended across 12 states and involved more than 50 accused.

Since taking charge in the Uttar Pradesh cadre, Anukriti Sharma had built a reputation as a serious and strict officer with a scientific approach to investigation. During her field postings in the police service, she solved several cases. However, the most significant and widely discussed phase of her career began when she was posted as Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) in Sambhal.

The investigation began with a suspicious road accident and an insurance claim file. While examining the details, Anukriti Sharma noticed several discrepancies. These irregularities provided a clue to a larger conspiracy. As she and her team began connecting the evidence, they uncovered an organised syndicate that was allegedly playing with human lives for money.

According to the investigation, the gang prepared fake death certificates for people who were alive and declared them dead on paper. It then allegedly used these documents to claim large insurance payouts. The investigation also brought out an even more disturbing aspect of the alleged operation.

The syndicate reportedly first took insurance policies worth lakhs and crores in the names of people who were seriously ill or helpless. It then allegedly killed them in order to receive the insurance claim. The murders were made to appear like ordinary road accidents, according to the details that emerged during the investigation.

The investigation launched under IPS Anukriti Sharma’s leadership gradually showed that the network was not limited to Sambhal or Uttar Pradesh. Its links extended to 12 states across the country. The police investigation found that the entire scam was worth more than Rs 100 crore.

The interstate operation allegedly involved several kinds of participants. These included people who prepared forged documents, insurance agents, some corrupt doctors and village heads. The network was therefore spread across different stages of the alleged fraud, from arranging documents and insurance policies to processing claims and disguising the deaths.

After months of intensive and confidential investigation, Anukriti Sharma’s team carried out raids against the network. The action weakened the gang and led to the arrest of more than 50 accused, including its alleged masterminds. They were sent to jail, according to the source material.

The Central Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has announced that IPS officer Anukriti Sharma will be honoured for the scientific investigation of this complex and sensational scam spread across 12 states and involving more than Rs 100 crore. The award is the prestigious "केंद्रीय गृहमंत्री दक्षता पदक" (Union Home Minister's Medal for Excellence in Investigation).

After dismantling the major nexus in Sambhal, the 2020 batch officer is currently serving as Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) in the Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) Commissionerate. Her investigation into the alleged insurance network has become an example in the history of police investigations in the country.