In a significant crackdown, the East Singhbhum district administration in Jharkhand has uncovered a massive fake birth certificate scam. Between January 2023 and April 2025, a staggering 4,281 fraudulent birth certificates were issued from the Matiyabandhi panchayat in the Chakulia block. This was out of a total of 4,567 certificates issued during the period, indicating that nearly 94% were forge
The scam came to light during the verification process of birth certificates submitted by Below Poverty Line (BPL) candidates for school admissions under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. District Collector Ananya Mittal confirmed the discovery and stated that five individuals have been arrested in connection with the case. The arrested persons are Sunil Mahato (59), Sapan Mahato (45), Shivam De (31), Harish Parmanik (26), and Arif Alam (27).
Further investigations have revealed that some of the fake certificates were issued using the One-Time Password (OTP) credentials of a panchayat committee member, Sunil Mahato, who has been reportedly ill and inactive since November. Mahato claims that his OTP was misused without his knowledge, stating, “I am just as surprised as everyone else.”
The incident has raised concerns about potential misuse of such fraudulent documents for illegal activities, including unauthorized access to government schemes and possible demographic manipulation. The district administration is conducting a thorough investigation to identify all those involved and to prevent such occurrences in the future.