In a sensational revelation, authorities in East Singhbhum have uncovered a massive fake birth certificate scam, with 4281 out of 4567 certificates found to be fraudulent. The case came to light during a verification exercise linked to admissions of BPL children under the Right to Education Act (RTE). Investigators noticed glaring anomalies in the documents submitted, prompting a probe led by the Sub-Divisional Officer of Ghatsila.
Deputy Commissioner Ananya Mittal and Senior Superintendent of Police Kishore Kaushal addressed a press conference at the Collectorate Auditorium on Tuesday, revealing the arrest of five individuals involved in issuing thousands of fake birth certificates from Matiyabandhi Panchayat in Chakulia block.
The case came to light during a verification exercise linked to admissions of BPL children under the Right to Education Act (RTE). Investigators flagged anomalies in documents submitted and a probe led by Ghatsila SDO was launched. A staggering 4281 out of 4567 birth certificates, issued since January 2023, were found to be fraudulent.
“This massive scam has the potential to impact school admissions, government schemes, and identity documentation like Aadhaar and passports,” said Ananya Mittal. He added that the list of fake certificates has been forwarded to relevant departments and will be made public through newspapers. Similar probes have been ordered across all 11 blocks of the district, and other districts have also been alerted to prevent a wider fraud network.
SSP Kishore Kaushal detailed that following a written complaint by Chakulia BDO Aarti Munda, Chakulia PS Case No. 32/2025 was registered under multiple sections of the BNS and IT Act against Panchayat Secretary Sunil Mahato and VLE Sapan Kumar Mahato of Matiyabandhi.
During the investigation, it was found that all 4281 fake certificates were generated using the Panchayat Secretary’s login credentials. A raid team led by the Rural SP arrested five individuals—Panchayat Secretary Sunil Mahato, VLE Sapan Mahato, VLE Shivam Dey, Haris Pramanik, and Arif Alam. Equipment used for the fraudulent activity—including computers, mobiles, and printers—was seized from multiple locations.
Seized Items Include: CPUs, monitors, printers from Panchayat offices and Pragya Kendras, a Dell laptop, Realme and Nokia mobiles from accused’s residences, an iPhone and another Realme mobile and list of 190 fake birth certificates as compiled by the BDO
Arrested Accused: Sunil Mahato – Panchayat Secretary, Matiyabandhi, resident of Mudakati, Dhalbhumgarh, Sapan Kumar Mahato – VLE, Matiyabandhi, resident of Basadiha, Chakulia, Shivam Dey – VLE, Malkundi Panchayat, resident of Jamdol, Chakulia, Haris Kumar Pramanik – VLE, Tuju Panchayat, resident of Baredih, Ranchi and Arif Alam – resident of Moro, Itki, Ranchi.
Police raiding team consisted of DSP Sandeep Bhagat (Musabani), Inspector Manoj Kumar Gupta, SI Madhusudan Dey, SI Santosh Kumar, SI Akhilesh Kumar, SI Indresh Kumar, SI Ajit Kumar, and SI Pankaj Kumar.
The DC made it clear that strict legal action will follow against anyone found involved in this criminal conspiracy. “This is a serious breach of public trust, and every person associated with this fraud will be brought to justice,” he asserted.