In a major development, Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Kirodi Lal Meena has uncovered a massive alleged scam in the Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme during a surprise inspection at a branch of State Bank of India in Salasar, Churu district.
The minister said irregularities were detected in the 2025 crop insurance scheme, raising suspicions of collusion between a fraud network, an insurance company, and bank officials through the creation of fake farmers. According to him, insurance premiums worth Rs 15 lakh were deducted in the names of 71 farmers from the Salasar branch, and claims of nearly Rs 9 crore were about to be released within days before the fraud was detected in time.
He warned that across Rajasthan, around 15,000 fake farmer entries could be linked to a potential scam worth nearly Rs 1,150 crore.
Same Name for Farmer and Father
During verification of the 71 insured farmers, most records showed identical names for both the farmer and the father, exposing the suspected fraud. Examples included entries where individuals such as Ajay Kumar Nayak, Anil Saraswat, Ankita Saraswat, and Anuj Saraswat had their fathers’ names recorded exactly the same as their own.
Land Records Did Not Exist
Insurance was reportedly issued by showing agricultural land of Salasar farmers in the Gajner region. However, after revenue record verification, the Gajner Tehsildar reported to the state government that no agricultural land, khasra number, or landholding existed in those names. Following the February 9 report, the Agriculture Department initiated action.
Minister’s Allegations
The minister stated that the insurance was issued by the Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) and the fraud was caught before claim payments were processed. He added that Rajasthan has about 67.25 lakh KCC account holders, of which 21.52 lakh are in government banks, including about 7.28 lakh accounts in SBI.
