Fearing fraud, Maha stays issuing birth certificates on late requests
Abhilash Botekar & Nisha Nambiar 24.01.2025
Nashik/Pune : Birth and death certificates applied for a year or more past the relevant dates won’t be issued in Maharashtra till the system undergoes a hygiene check, Mahayuti govt has notified amid a row over suspected illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants fraudulently obtaining such documents in parts of the state. Top revenue officials told TOI that the issuance of certificates would be kept on hold for at least six months in all districts. Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya alleged that 4,318 Bangladeshis and Rohingyas in Malegaon, 4,537 in Amravati and more than 15,000 in Akola had been issued birth certificates based on forged documents.
The state home department has set up a special investigation team to investigate the allegations. The report is expected after six months. A senior official of the Nashik administration said the state govt’s communication to divisional commissioners and district collectors cites several complaints about laws being bypassed to approve de layed applications for birth and death certificates. Until 2023, applications delayed by a year and more required judicial approval. The central govt then amended the law, granting authority to district collectors and sub-divisional officers to approve such applications. The change led to alleged misuse of the system in districts like Malegaon and Amravati, where reports suggest that thousands of fake birth certificates have been issued to Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants. Data from all districts is being collated as part of the probe, officials said.
Malegaon’s AIMIM MLA Mohammed Khaliq accused BJP’s Somaiya of defaming his constituency since the saffron party lost the Lok Sabha election there. “What were the central and state home ministries, both managed by BJP, doing when these people entered India and the state?” he said. In Pune district, 2,470 delayed birth certificates and 1,488 delayed death certificates have been kept on hold, district administration officials said. Shirur has the maximum number of delayed birth-certificate applications at 680, followed by Velhe
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