Bareilly (UP), Aug 19 (PTI) An alleged racket involved in making fake Ayushman cards and misusing funds under the government health scheme in Bareilly has been busted by police, which arrested five people, officials said on Wednesday.

The Bhojipura police recovered seven mobile phones, 13 forged Ayushman cards, six forged Aadhaar cards, photocopies of 22 forged ration cards and Rs 2,700 in cash from the accused, they said.

Additional Superintendent of Police (North) Mukesh Chandra Mishra identified the arrested accused as Abid, Salman, Arman, Afroz and Deshraj.

According to the police, the accused allegedly collected Aadhaar and ration cards of people by promising them free treatment and used forged details to create fake Ayushman cards.

They allegedly facilitated treatment of ineligible beneficiaries at Ram Murti Hospital in Bhojipura and other hospitals in alleged connivance with some employees, and obtained money from the government under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, the police said.

The gang allegedly charged beneficiaries around Rs 35,000-40,000 for treatment arranged through each fake card and shared the money among themselves, the officials said.

The police said the role of a Ram Murti Hospital employee, identified as Nitin, and Naresh, a Moradabad resident who is said to be working at the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) office in Sambhal, is also being investigated.

The accused were arrested on Wednesday morning near a tubewell behind the boys' hostel of Ram Murti Hospital on the road connecting Abhaypur and Prahladpur, the police said.

The case was registered on August 18 on a complaint by a resident of Devarniya Jagir in Nawabganj area.

The complainant alleged that members of the gang forged his and his daughter's Aadhaar cards, and created fake Ayushman cards.

The police said the complainant later sought a refund after his daughter's treatment could not be carried out at a hospital in Rishikesh and he came to know that the Ayushman card was fake.

The police are also trying to ascertain how many fake Ayushman cards the gang had created and the extent of alleged diversion of government funds, the officials said.

Abid has a previous criminal record, with cases registered against him at Premnagar and Bhojipura police stations, the police added. PTI COR ABN KSS KSS