STF arrests key member of Ayushman card fraud syndicate in Lucknow; accused claims role in creating 1,500 fake beneficiaries

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Wednesday arrested a key member of an organised cyber fraud syndicate allegedly involved in generating thousands of fraudulent Ayushman Bharat health cards for ineligible persons, enabling them to avail free medical treatment and causing substantial financial losses to the government.The accused, identified as Chak Sheru alias Abhishek alias Ajay, 25, a BSc graduate originally from Hardoi and currently residing in Lucknow, was arrested on June 2 from Budheshwar under Para police station limits by a joint team of the STF's cyber unit.During the operation, investigators seized a laptop, two CPUs, a monitor, thumb scanner, webcam, printer, mobile phone, Aadhaar and PAN cards, a CSC ID card, forged Ayushman-related digital records, an Ayushman card, a seal, Rs 1,320 cash and a car.Additional SP, STF, Vishal Vikram Singh, said that the gang used a sophisticated illegal portal that bypassed Aadhaar-based OTP verification and allowed ineligible individuals to be added to the family IDs of genuine beneficiaries. Once added, the fraudulent applications were allegedly approved through insiders associated with Implementation Support Agencies (ISA) and the State Health Agency (SHA), enabling beneficiaries to obtain Ayushman cards and receive free treatment at government expense.“The syndicate possessed family ID data of all 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh. By matching details such as a person's father's name and district, gang members allegedly inserted ineligible individuals into unrelated beneficiary families. The manipulated system ensured that OTPs were sent to the mobile number of the person being added rather than the family head, effectively bypassing verification safeguards,” said ASP Singh.Singh added that during interrogation, Chak Sheru revealed that he came into contact with the network while trying to get his own Ayushman card approved in 2025. He was allegedly introduced to gang members who offered to approve cards for a fee and later recruited him into the operation.He told investigators that a software developer had created a fake portal specifically designed to facilitate fraudulent Ayushman card generation. Using login credentials provided by the developer, he allegedly processed five to six fake cards daily and claimed to have helped create nearly 1,500 fraudulent Ayushman cards over the past year.STF officials said many of these cards were subsequently used by ineligible persons to obtain free treatment at hospitals, causing significant losses to public funds earmarked for healthcare benefits.