Investigators claim the forgeries were carried out between 2019 and 2024.

“While one group, led by an advocate, convinced the family of the deceased to say their kin died of a snakebite and obtained a fraudulent certificate issued by a doctor, another ensured that the claim documents were cleared by officials,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Bilaspur, Rajnesh Singh said.

Forged post-mortem reports were prepared in the names of doctors of SIMS Hospital, falsely showing snakebite as the cause of death, the SSP said. “Fake seals and signatures of the police, patwaris, doctors and other government offices were prepared to make the documents appear genuine. Based on these documents, financial assistance was sanctioned and credited into the beneficiaries’ bank accounts, after which the amount was distributed among themselves,” he said.

Asked why this came to light in 2026, a police officer said: “The issue was raised in the Vidhan Sabha by an MLA, after which a probe was ordered into the incident.”