The Thane police have booked the branch manager, a relationship manager and an employee of an insurance company for swindling a policyholder of Rs 12 lakh on the pretext of updating his KYC (Know Your Customer) details. The accused allegedly caused a loss of Rs 46.61 lakh in total to the policyholder. Asan Balani, a 47-year-old hospitality professional, and his wife bought a policy on behalf of their child in 2010. The yearly premium of the policy is Rs 1 lakh and it was to mature in 2030, yielding Rs 46.61 lakh in returns. As the child had turned 18 recently, the policy had been transferred to the youngster.

In March 2022, the relationship manager, Meenu Jha, visited Balani’s residence and took a photo of his wife on the pretext of updating KYC details. She also asked her to reveal an OTP, claiming it was required in order to update her mobile number. On learning about this, Balani called Jha and questioned her. The accused not only allegedly lied to him but also asked him to cancel his policy—claiming it was no longer beneficial—and to buy a new one, which Balani refused to do.