Doctors Caught in Elaborate Insurance Scam
Police in Talegaon Dabhade have made significant arrests in a major medical insurance fraud case that has exposed systematic manipulation of healthcare documentation. Two local doctors have been taken into custody for allegedly orchestrating a sophisticated scam that siphoned approximately ₹22 lakh from a leading insurance provider through fabricated claims.
The Unraveling of the Fraud
The elaborate scheme came crashing down when Tata AIG, the insurance company involved, conducted an internal investigation that revealed startling inconsistencies. Investigators discovered identical medical test results, including X-ray images, being submitted for multiple patients across different insurance claims. This red flag prompted deeper scrutiny into the claims originating from Shree Multispeciality Hospital in Talegaon Dabhade.
Dr Sandeep Gaikwad, Senior Manager with Tata AIG, officially registered the First Information Report at Talegaon Dabhade police station on Monday, November 17, 2025. The complaint detailed how the fraudulent activities had been ongoing since March of this year, with at least 14 confirmed fake claims identified so far.
The Accused and Legal Proceedings
Senior Inspector Kanhaiyya Thorat, who heads the Talegaon Dabhade police station, confirmed the identities of the arrested individuals. Dr Sandeep Wankhede and Dr Vishal Kukde, both operators of Shree Multispeciality Hospital, now face multiple serious charges under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.
The accused doctors were scheduled to be produced before a court on Wednesday, where police planned to seek their custody for further interrogation. "We need to determine the full extent of this fraud and identify any additional fraudulent claims that might not have been detected yet," Senior Inspector Thorat stated during a press briefing.
The charges filed against the medical professionals include:
- Criminal breach of trust (Section 316(2))
- Cheating and dishonestly inducing alteration of valuable security (Section 318(4))
- Forgery (Section 336)
- Forgery of court or public register record (Section 337)
- Using forged documents as genuine (Section 340(2))
- Falsification of accounts (Section 344)
Broader Implications for Healthcare Trust
This case has sent shockwaves through the medical community in Pune and raised serious questions about oversight mechanisms in healthcare insurance. The brazen reuse of identical X-ray images across multiple patient claims demonstrates the perpetrators' confidence in their ability to bypass verification systems.
Police officials have indicated that their investigation will expand to determine whether more fraudulent claims were submitted and if any additional medical professionals or hospital staff were involved in the scheme. The Pimpri Chinchwad police jurisdiction, under which Talegaon Dabhade falls, is treating this as a significant case that could reveal vulnerabilities in the medical insurance claim process.
This incident comes at a time when India's healthcare sector is increasingly moving toward digital documentation and insurance claims processing. The ₹22 lakh fraud highlights potential loopholes that unethical medical practitioners might exploit for financial gain, ultimately driving up costs for genuine patients and insurance providers alike.
Industry experts suggest that this case might prompt insurance companies to implement more sophisticated verification systems, including advanced image recognition technology to detect duplicate medical images across different claims.
