RAIPUR: A suicide was turned into a snakebite death on paper. An existing inquest number was recycled to create a forged postmortem report. In another case, a heart attack was passed off as a fatal snakebite. The paperwork then travelled through govt offices and unlocked a Rs 4 lakh compensation payout.Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur police in past one month till Monday widened their crackdown into the alleged estimated ₹17.24-crore snakebite compensation scam, arresting total 17 people, including a former CIMS woman doctor, three revenue clerks, lawyers, a bank employee and other conspirators for fabricating postmortem reports and govt records to siphon off compensation meant for genuine snakebite victims. In some cases, allegedly without the knowledge or consent of the deceased persons’ families.The alleged fraud came to light after Beltara BJP MLA Sushant Shukla raised the issue in the Chhattisgarh assembly in the previous session. Official figures that he presented show that Bilaspur reported 431 snakebite deaths over three years, drawing ₹17.24 crore in compensation.Speaking to TOI, Bilaspur SP Rajnesh Singh said that 16 FIRs in several police stations have been lodged and a doctor is at large while 17 people have been arrested in past one month. The nexus has been active since 2018 and most cases occurred between 2018 and 2024. “It’s a syndicate of lawyers, doctors, their juniors and bank workers. It would be best if the scientific inspection and FSL tests are done in any case reported as snake bite death,” the SP said.Under govt norms, the next of kin of a person who dies from snakebite is entitled to financial assistance of ₹4 lakh and this provision was systematically exploited by altering the cause of death and submitting fabricated claims.Suicide converted into snakebite deathOne of the most startling cases emerged under Sarkanda. Police said a man had died by suicide by hanging, following which an inquest was registered and a postmortem conducted.The same inquest number was used later to prepare a fabricated postmortem report showing snakebite as the cause of death. The identity of the purported beneficiary was also found to be fictitious, police said.Investigators arrested tehsil office clerk Harishankar Rathore and SDM office employees Narendra Kaushik and Garib Ram Binjhwar for allegedly preparing the documents and processing the compensation claim. The three were produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.Doc accused of falsifying autopsy reportsThe latest case was reported from Torwa with arrest of Dr Priyanka Soni, formerly associated with the Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences, for allegedly preparing false postmortem reports in two cases.Police said investigations into the deaths of Nisar Khan and Lata Suryavanshi found that their actual causes of death was concealed and replaced with snakebite in postmortem documentation, in which three arrests were made earlier.Dr Soni also faces a separate case at Civil Lines police station concerning the death of another person over similar allegations. His wife and another accused have already been arrested in that case. She was also booked in another case of death due to poisoning of her relative which was converted into a snakebite fatality.Driver suspected to be key linkThe probe has also reached the tehsil office, where daily-wage driver Govind Vishwakarma, attached from the municipal corporation, is suspected of being a key operator in the network.Police allege that Vishwakarma worked with revenue employees and middlemen to create fraudulent cases and process claims. Investigators are examining whether official login credentials were used to generate reports and move compensation files through the system.In an earlier round of arrests on July 16, Sarkanda police jailed lawyer Hiraprasad Khandekar, bank employee Kush Kumar Gupta, alleged lawyer Mahendra Kumar and Vishwakarma in connection with five suspected false snakebite claims.A lawyer identified as Shravan Vastrakar, described by investigators as a principal accused in the alleged network, remains at large.More doctors on police radarThe investigation currently covers around 15 suspected cases, and police are scrutinising postmortem reports issued by four to five other doctors from CIMS and health facilities in different tehsils.Investigators are also examining whether compensation amounts were diverted after reaching beneficiary accounts and whether bank employees or intermediaries helped distribute the proceeds among members of the alleged syndicate.Police said further arrests are likely as they trace the chain from fabricated medical certification and revenue verification to sanction and withdrawal of compensation.