Maharashtra govt forms SIT to probe 'delayed' birth, death certificates

Confirming the development, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that the probe will cover certificates that were already issued and applications received

The Maharashtra government has set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the issuance of birth and death certificates on "delayed" applications in an attempt to check the rise in Bangladeshi immigrants, an official said on Saturday.

The SIT led by Inspector General Datta Karale will probe the issuance of birth and death certificates on delayed applications, the official from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) told PTI.

Delayed applications are those that are made at least a year after the birth or death of a person.

The issue of Bangladeshis entering India and residing in the country illegally has gained prominence after the police arrested Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir, a 30-year-old Bangladeshi national, for the knife attack on actor Saif Ali Khan in Mumbai.

Confirming the development, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule told PTI that the probe will cover certificates that were already issued and applications received.

The government's decision to form a probe team comes in the wake of BJP leader Kirit Somaiya's allegation about a birth certificate scam.

The former MP has alleged that 269 delayed birth registration orders were issued by the magistrate court of Akola City between January 2021 and December 2023. But the tehsildar gave orders to register 4,849 delayed birth applications.

He has claimed that 11,864 delayed applications were made in Yavatmal, 15,845 in Akola, and 4,350 in Nagpur districts.

Somaiya has alleged that two lakh Bangladeshi Rohingyas have applied for birth certificates in Maharashtra, and a tehsildar was suspended in Malegaon in this connection.