A shocking financial scam involving fake death compensation claims has been uncovered in Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh, known as the setting for Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Investigations reveal that between 2018 and 2022, a carefully planned fraud used fake deaths from natural causes like snakebites , drowning, or lightning strikes to steal public funds. One of the most striking discoveries is that a man was recorded as dying 30 times from snakebites, and a woman 29 times. These fake deaths were used to claim compensation, totalling an estimated Rs 11.26 crore from the state government.
Snakebite scam of 11.26-crore exposed by Joint Director of Jabalpur
The finance department discovered in its findings that the mastermind of the scam is Assistant Grade III staff Sachin Dahayak. The investigation, conducted by Rohit Kaushal, Joint Director (Finance) of the Jabalpur division, started with the examination of the financial documents of the Keolari tehsil and then uncovered the extent of the fraud in a later stage.
"An 11.26-crore scam has surfaced. The money was deposited into the bank accounts of 47 people, including family members, friends, and acquaintances of Dahayak," Kaushal said.
Instead of money being deposited directly into accounts of genuine recipients, it was diverted into personal accounts of unrelated people—a sign of a carefully planned and orchestrated fraud.
Snakebite scam involves fake death claims for compensation
The scam involved the use of the same names repeatedly in multiple claims for compensation. For example:
Each of these spurious deaths was claimed up to Rs 4 lakh compensation, the maximum available by the Madhya Pradesh government in case of death due to a natural calamity. During the investigation, officials discovered that claims were sanctioned without necessary documents including:
These documents were never brought forth despite constant requests by the investigation team. Lack of these mandatory checks enabled the scam to remain undetected for years.
How criminals used system gaps to forge fake sanctions
The criminals took advantage of gaps in the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) to bulldoze spurious bills and sanctions. The investigation further revealed that officers, ranging from tehsildars to a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), had their official login details used to create spurious sanction orders. The primary accused, Sachin Dahayak, has been arrested and is in custody. Departmental action against six other government officials has been launched, including:
All were serving in Keolari tehsil during the period of investigation (2018–2022).
CAG audit exposes Rs 23.81 crore fraud in Madhya Pradesh
A different audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in late 2022 also pointed out the systemic nature of the fraud. The audit, which considered disbursements from four big state relief schemes, identified that Rs 23.81 crore was fraudulently disbursed in 13 districts of Madhya Pradesh.
Breakdown of misappropriated amount:
The audit report, which was laid before the Vidhan Sabha in March 2025, reported that Rs 21.14 crore had been transferred to ineligible or unauthorized persons and Rs 2.67 crore had gone to government servants and their family members. In Seoni district alone, scrutiny of 81 bills from the Keolari tehsil found that Rs 11.64 crore had been illegally transferred to 59 ineligible persons in the name of 291 fictitious sanction orders.
Financial fraud exposes weaknesses in digital governance
The revelation of this compensation fraud in Seoni and other areas highlights key weaknesses in financial management and digital governance frameworks. The capacity to keep making false death claims undetected for more than three years indicates key lacunas in monitoring, documentation, and accountability.
While inquiry goes on and disciplinary steps against officials implicated unfold, the case pinpoints the imperative for enhanced verification processes, periodic audit checking, and safe access to financial management systems to avert repeats of such massive financial frauds.
Also Read | China’s 650-year-old Ming Dynasty tower roof collapses in seconds, tourists evacuate in panic | Watch
Snakebite scam of 11.26-crore exposed by Joint Director of Jabalpur
The finance department discovered in its findings that the mastermind of the scam is Assistant Grade III staff Sachin Dahayak. The investigation, conducted by Rohit Kaushal, Joint Director (Finance) of the Jabalpur division, started with the examination of the financial documents of the Keolari tehsil and then uncovered the extent of the fraud in a later stage.
"An 11.26-crore scam has surfaced. The money was deposited into the bank accounts of 47 people, including family members, friends, and acquaintances of Dahayak," Kaushal said.
Instead of money being deposited directly into accounts of genuine recipients, it was diverted into personal accounts of unrelated people—a sign of a carefully planned and orchestrated fraud.
Snakebite scam involves fake death claims for compensation
The scam involved the use of the same names repeatedly in multiple claims for compensation. For example:
- Ramesh was recorded as having died 30 times.
- Dwarika Bai is said to have died 29 times.
- Ram Kumar was recorded as having died 28 times.
Each of these spurious deaths was claimed up to Rs 4 lakh compensation, the maximum available by the Madhya Pradesh government in case of death due to a natural calamity. During the investigation, officials discovered that claims were sanctioned without necessary documents including:
- Death certificates
- Post-mortem reports
- Police verification
These documents were never brought forth despite constant requests by the investigation team. Lack of these mandatory checks enabled the scam to remain undetected for years.
How criminals used system gaps to forge fake sanctions
The criminals took advantage of gaps in the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) to bulldoze spurious bills and sanctions. The investigation further revealed that officers, ranging from tehsildars to a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), had their official login details used to create spurious sanction orders. The primary accused, Sachin Dahayak, has been arrested and is in custody. Departmental action against six other government officials has been launched, including:
- One Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM)
- Four Tehsildars
- One other Assistant Grade III employee
All were serving in Keolari tehsil during the period of investigation (2018–2022).
CAG audit exposes Rs 23.81 crore fraud in Madhya Pradesh
A different audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in late 2022 also pointed out the systemic nature of the fraud. The audit, which considered disbursements from four big state relief schemes, identified that Rs 23.81 crore was fraudulently disbursed in 13 districts of Madhya Pradesh.
Breakdown of misappropriated amount:
- Seoni: Rs 11.79 crore
- Sheopur: Rs 3.36 crore
- Shivpuri: Rs 3 crore
- Dewas: Rs 1.26 crore
- Sehore: Rs 1.17 crore
The audit report, which was laid before the Vidhan Sabha in March 2025, reported that Rs 21.14 crore had been transferred to ineligible or unauthorized persons and Rs 2.67 crore had gone to government servants and their family members. In Seoni district alone, scrutiny of 81 bills from the Keolari tehsil found that Rs 11.64 crore had been illegally transferred to 59 ineligible persons in the name of 291 fictitious sanction orders.
Financial fraud exposes weaknesses in digital governance
The revelation of this compensation fraud in Seoni and other areas highlights key weaknesses in financial management and digital governance frameworks. The capacity to keep making false death claims undetected for more than three years indicates key lacunas in monitoring, documentation, and accountability.
While inquiry goes on and disciplinary steps against officials implicated unfold, the case pinpoints the imperative for enhanced verification processes, periodic audit checking, and safe access to financial management systems to avert repeats of such massive financial frauds.
Also Read | China’s 650-year-old Ming Dynasty tower roof collapses in seconds, tourists evacuate in panic | Watch
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