Bangladeshis, Rohingyas in Maharashtra’s Amravati now? Panel to probe birth certificate claims | Mumbai News

The Maharashtra government has formed a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate allegations by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya regarding fraudulent issuance of birth certificates to over 1,000 Bangladeshi Muslims and Rohingyas.

AMRAVATI: A day after Maharashtra govt formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe BJP leader and former MP Kirit Somaiya’s allegations of more than 1,000 Bangladeshi Muslims and Rohingyas fraudulently being issued birth certificates in Malegaon, the Amravati district administration took serious cognizance of his similar complaint about ‘Bangladeshi-Rohingya birth certificate scam’ in the district’s Anjangaon Surji tehsil.
The district administration said, a demand has been made to include Anjangaon Surji tehsil under scope of SIT probe. The district administration on Thursday set up a committee to conduct a probe into the complaint, which alleges Anjangaon Surji tehsildar issued birth certificates based on fake documents to 1,100 Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims living in the tehsil in six months.
The committee will be headed by Daryapur sub-divisional officer with sub-divisional police officer, block development officer and chief officer as members.
The committee has been tasked to submit its report immediately, stated resident deputy collector Anil Bhatkar on Thursday. He said that police too will investigate independently. Somaiya’s letter to CM Devendra Fadnavis stated that besides Malegaon, birth certificate scam was prevalent in other districts of the state.
Anjangaon Surji tehsildar Pushpa Solanke refuted allegations and clarified that a total 569 birth certificates (485 Muslims and 84 Hindus) were issued by her office in the last one year.
She said around 1,000 applications are still pending for want of scrutiny and added that directives have been issued to scrutinise them.