Acting on rumours that an unidentified man, who claims to be attached to the Ayushman Bharat, is collecting thumb impressions of people, a housing society in Wadala’s Bhakti Park has issued a circular cautioning its 165 residents.
The manager of Odyssey Cooperative Housing Society said in the circular that the man carries a laptop, biometric machine, and claims to be from the Home Ministry.
“I got to know about such a person going on house visits. Therefore, I immediately warned the residents of my building,” said manager Nikhil Pawar, clarifying that they have not witnessed any such incident in their building as yet.
The circular said the unidentified person also carries a list of names of people and enters the premises stating that he has come to collect the photo and fingerprints for the Ayushman Bharat.
“All are requested to be alert and do not allow such person to enter the society. The same have been reported bogus with a aim to looting people (sic),” it said.
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) under the Ayushman Bharat is a medical insurance scheme for the poor, which covers a family for up to ₹5 lakh per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation.
Dr. Sudhakar Shinde, chief executive officer of the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana that is integrated with PMJAY in Maharashtra, said staff from common service centres do visit households in remote areas and slums. “They mainly reach out to people working in unorganised sectors. The upper class is not the beneficiary of the scheme and therefore there is no question of anyone visiting such buildings.”
He also said, “I have asked one of my staff to visit the society. They should lodge a police complaint because someone is using the name of the scheme as a pretext for entering the premises.”
