The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Thursday arrested four people in connection with misuse of the Chief Minister's Relief Fund using fake medical bills. They have been identified as Amoghappa from Kalaburagi, M.K. Kiran from Tumakuru, C.M.Nagaraj Shetty and Shankar from Mandya.
According to the police, they are involved in 54 cases and siphoned off Rs 3.39 crore from the fund.
The accused would approach poor and gullible villagers in and around the State and make copies of their voter ID and ration cards. They then used the photocopies to prepare fake bills from reputed hospitals and apply to the CM’s Relief Fund, said the police.
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The accused had not only forged medical bills of various hospitals in the State but also from Maharashtra, the investigations revealed.
The scam came to light when alert staff of the CMO grew suspicious and got one of the medical records verified in October 2015. They filed a complaint with the Vidhana Soudha police. The case was transferred to the CID for a detailed probe.