'19,734 Forged Birth Certificates Identified In Mumbai Scam; Over 20,000 More With Errors To Be Cancelled,' Says Mayor Ritu Tawde

Mumbai: As many as 19,734 birth certificates have been identified as 'forged' and will be cancelled, and accordingly the state government has issued directives to the BMC, mayor Ritu Tawde informed on Wednesday. Also, errors have been identified in more 20,000 birth certificates, which will be cancelled on the level of BMC and state health department, Tawde said.

SIT Report Deadline

The state's Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been directed to submit a report to the mayor and health department officials within 48 hours over development into investigation of four FIRs registered in Mumbai into the alleged fake birth- certificate scam.

"Identifying fake birth registrations has been a challenge. 19,734 is a huge number and these people have been staying in Mumbai for years. Taking our action further, minor and major errors have been identified in more 20,000 birth certificates. Cancellation of certificates with minor errors will be done at the BMC level, while for major errors, SOP will be taken from the state government over their cancellations," Tawde said.

Investigation Lag

Speaking with the media the mayor added that there has been little development in the investigation on the FIRs registered in this issue, and the SIT is directed to submit a report within 48 hours.

The BMC has so far suspended four officers from its health department over the alleged fake birth certificate scam for misusing the system, four FIRs have been registered namely at Deonar, Shivaji Nagar, Mulund and Kurla police stations.

Shocking Primary Findings

In the primary investigation by the BMC's health department last month, it was found that 87,347 bogus birth certificates issued, allegedly to Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas, highlighting a deep rooted manipulation of official records and misuse of system. The probe revealed a staggering the bogus entries were made through the SAP system between 2024 and 2026.

It probe revealed that Medical Health Officers (MOHs) were bypassing the mandatory Civil Registration System (CRS) portal and instead using the outdated SAP-CPWM system to manipulate birth and death records—openly flouting guidelines set by the Registrar General of India and exposing serious breaches in oversight and accountability.

Following this, a SIT was formed by Mumbai Police crime branch. The SIT is headed by Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Lakhami Gautam and includes Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shailesh Balkawade, Additional Commissioner of Police (Special Branch) Dhananjay Kulkarni, and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection), Crime Branch, Raj Tilak Raushan, along with other officers.

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