Man Held For Duping 450 People On Pretext Of Helping Them To Enrol Under Modicare
Sunil Rajendra, a resident who works as a sweeper, said the accused, Mahesh Chand, arrived in the colony on Tuesday morning and told them that he would help them fill their forms and get the golden cards.
The government-funded healthcare scheme, Ayushman Bharat, was launched only on Sunday, but fraudsters are already trying to make a quick buck by duping gullible people who aren¡¯t well-informed about the scheme.
On Wednesday, a Muzaffarpur resident was arrested for allegedly duping around 450 people in Sector 16¡¯s JJ colony by claiming to provide them the golden cards which would allow them to avail cashless medical treatment at public hospitals and empanelled private facilities under the scheme, also dubbed ¡®Modicare¡¯.
Sunil Rajendra, a resident who works as a sweeper, said the accused, Mahesh Chand, arrived in the colony on Tuesday morning and told them that he would help them fill their forms and get the golden cards.
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¡°Mahesh said we would get free medical treatment under the scheme, for which enrolment will be done only between September 25-October 2. He said he had tie-ups with private hospitals,¡± he added.
Impressed with the benefits of the scheme, they asked him about the application process, as most of them are uneducated and do odd jobs. ¡°Mahesh offered to fill in the forms for Rs 50 each,¡± he said. Around 300 residents paid up to get ¡®enrolled¡¯. However, some residents informed the BJP Yuva Morcha about Mahesh, who in turn informed MP Mahesh Sharma¡¯s representative Sanjay Bali.
Mahesh arrived in the colony again on Wednesday and was paid by around 150 more residents. A group of Yuva Morcha members arrived and informed police. Mahesh tried to flee from the spot, but locals caught hold of him and handed him over to police, who took him away in a jeep.
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However, as soon as the jeep slowed, Mahesh jumped out and tried to run away. He was nabbed a few metres ahead near a traffic signal. Manoj Pant, SHO of Sector 20 police station, told TOI that an FIR has been lodged against the accused under section 420 (cheating) of the IPC.
Meanwhile, the health department has clarified that the golden cards are not mandatory to avail the benefits of the scheme, but a beneficiary needs to be registered with the department to avail its benefits.
