Meerut, June 25 -- Meerut police arrested a 45-year-old man for fraudulently withdrawing the pension of his dead mother, a dependent widow of a freedom fighter, for nearly seven years by using forged life certificates. Police on Wednesday said the accused allegedly siphoned off more than Rs.44 lakh in pension funds after his mother's death in 2018. The accused, identified as Prem Singh, son of Sukkhan Singh and a resident of Shahpur Jadid village in Meerut, was arrested on Tuesday following an investigation into the alleged pension fraud. According to the police, Singh continued to receive both freedom fighter and defence pensions (Sukkhan Singh was a member of the Azad Hind Fauj) in the name of his mother, Shanti Devi, long after her death in December 2018. Officials said Shanti Devi was receiving pension benefits as the widow of a deceased freedom fighter. Under government rules, pension beneficiaries are required to submit an annual life certificate as proof of life to continue availing the pension. Investigators allege that Prem Singh, in connivance with unidentified persons, repeatedly submitted forged life certificates to falsely show that his mother was alive, enabling pension disbursements to continue uninterrupted. Police said the accused allegedly withdrew a total of Rs.44,38,096 through ATM transactions, UPI transfers and other banking channels over the years. Circle officer PC Agrawal said the money included payments received under the freedom fighter pension scheme as well as pension benefits from the defence department. The fraud came to light after the manager of the State Bank of India branch at Sakauti Tanda lodged a complaint with the authorities. Acting on the complaint, a case was registered at Daurala police station. Officials said the matter had earlier been flagged by the Sardhana sub-divisional magistrate, who sent a report to the bank directing it to halt transactions from the pension account after a verification process confirmed Shanti Devi's death. During the investigation, police received information about the accused's whereabouts and subsequently arrested him from his residence in Shahpur Jadid village. According to official records, Meerut currently has no surviving freedom fighters. However, 52 dependents of deceased freedom fighters continue to receive pension benefits under the government scheme. Police said efforts are underway to identify and trace other individuals who may have assisted in preparing forged documents or facilitating the fraudulent withdrawals....