MUMBAI, Feb 2: Police have arrested two persons for allegedly submitting fake documents to obtain birth certificates in Malegaon in Maharashtra’s Nashik district, an official said on Sunday.
Police have registered a case against three persons in connection with the offence, he said.
Two of the arrested accused were produced in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (Malegaon) S J Dolare, who sent them to police custody till February 4, noting that the offence was “serious in nature”.
According to the police, a first information report (FIR) was registered against the accused, Sayyed Sajid Sayyed Wahab, Shabana Bano Sheikh Haneef and Nazma Bano Abdul Shakoor, based on a complaint by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya to the tehsildar.
An official said that in December 2024, the trio submitted fake Aadhaar cards, ration cards, school leaving certificates, voter IDs and other documents to the tehsildar office to get birth certificates.
He said a case has been registered against the accused for forgery, cheating and other relevant charges under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
The official said Somaiya, in his complaint, claimed that the three accused were Bangladeshis, and an investigation is underway.
The police submitted in court that the two arrested accused needed to be interrogated to find out if anyone else helped them in the alleged crime.
The defence, however, pointed out that the alleged crime took place between December 4 and December 13, 2024, but the FIR was registered in January 2025.
The defence lawyer argued that as all the documents submitted by the two accused were with the tehsildar, their physical custody was not required.
He said that Wahab is a college student and all his documents are available with the college, while Nazma’s name was changed after marriage, and the tehsildar issued their birth certificates after scrutiny.
The court, however, noted that “perusal of the record shows that offence is serious in nature”.
The court said that it is alleged that many certificates are issued by tendering forged documents before the revenue officer, and it was necessary to search for the source of these documents.
“It is alleged that these accused obtained forged documents for issuance of their birth certificate. For this purpose, detailed interrogation with these accused is required for further investigation,” the magistrate added.
BJP leader Kirit Somaiya recently alleged that birth certificates were issued to a large number of Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslims in Malegaon city.
He submitted a statement to the divisional revenue commissioner and deputy superintendent of police, claiming 3,977 birth certificates were issued based on fake documents.
The Maharashtra government last month suspended two revenue officials for alleged irregularities in issuing birth certificates in Malegaon tehsil. (PTI)