Bhopal: BMC To Use Barcodes To Curb Fake Birth-Death Certificates

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): After Free Press recently highlighted circulation of fake online birth and death certificates, the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has swung into action.

To help citizens identify forged documents, the corporation will soon paste barcode stickers and sample certificates outside all its offices across the capital.

The initiative aims to make it easier for the public to verify whether the certificates they possess—or plan to obtain—are genuine. The move comes after a fake birth certificate surfaced at the Birth-Death Certificate Branch.

When scanned through the official portal, staff found it was linked to a counterfeit website. Shockingly, the forged certificate even carried a replica of the registrar’s digital signature.

After confirming the fraud, BMC filed a complaint at the Govindpura police station. Officials believe that more such fake certificates may have been created and distributed, likely with the help of brokers.

How it will work

Registrar of Birth-Death Certificate Branch, Satyaprakash Badgainya, said, “To prevent misuse and inform the public, we are preparing to paste real certificate samples along with scannable barcodes outside all our offices. This will help citizens differentiate between genuine and fake certificates.”

He said that the work will begin as soon as formal permission is granted by the Corporation Commissioner.