Mumbai, May 5: The Crime Branch, Mumbai, on Tuesday formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate a massive scam involving over 87,000 allegedly fraudulent birth certificates issued in the city.
The move came after a probe by the BMC Health Department exposed a major racket within Mumbai’s civic system, with 87,347 bogus birth certificates allegedly issued to Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingya residents, pointing to deep-rooted manipulation of official records.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde on Tuesday chaired a meeting at the civic headquarters and reviewed the BMC's response to the alleged birth certificate issuance scam.
The meeting was attended by officials from the BMC, the state government and the police. BJP leader and former MP from Mumbai, Kirit Somaiya, who has been behind revealing the alleged birth certificate scam in Mumbai, was also present.
Mayor orders action, certificates to be cancelled
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Tawde said she has directed officials to cancel 87,347 birth certificates issued over the past two to three years, and to initiate a police investigation into the matter.
While Somaiya described the alleged scam as not only one of the largest in the country but a national security threat, claiming birth certificates were issued through the SAP (document management) system under the pretext of making minor "spelling corrections".
Somaiya also claimed that the BMC health officials intentionally ignored the three SOP/circulars/GR issued by the state government regarding birth registrations.
He demanded that the deputy and executive health officers involved in the alleged birth certificate scam should be immediately transferred. The bogus birth certificates should be cancelled immediately, and the passport office and central investigating agencies should be informed immediately, he said.
Concerns over lack of earlier action
Speaking with the media, the BJP leader highlighted that it is surprising and regrettable that the BMC has not yet filed a complaint with the police even after this scam came to its attention, adding that in the FIRs that have been registered in the past regarding the birth certificate scam, neither the BMC administration nor the police have taken up the investigation, follow-up or any action.
Raj Tilak Raushan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), said, “During the course of the investigation, as well as from other complaints received, it has come to light that a large number of such birth registration certificates have been obtained through similar fraudulent means.”
Considering the wide scope and seriousness of the matter, the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a thorough and effective investigation into these offences and the complaints received, Raushan added.
SIT formed, probe intensifies
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.
On Sunday, Somaiya had filed a complaint at Azad Maidan Police Station against BMC health officials and agents for allegedly issuing 87,347 birth certificates illegally to Bangladeshi nationals and other ineligible persons, citing criminal conspiracy, stating that if the police fail to complete the required legal procedures within the next seven days, they would consider approaching the Bombay High Court for appropriate legal recourse.
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On Monday, Mumbai BJP president MLA Ameet Satam demanded the immediate suspension of the officials involved and the registration of FIRs against them.
In a letter written to Mayor Ritu Tawde and BMC commissioner Ashwini Bhide, Satam highlighted serious discrepancies in registrations carried out by Medical Health Officers, and pointed out that these entries were made on the SAP portal instead of the mandatory Civil Registration System (CRS), and their authenticity is currently under verification.
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