Maharashtra has uncovered one of the largest document forgery scams in India’s history, exposing how thousands of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators allegedly manipulated legal loopholes to acquire fake birth certificates and Aadhaar cards, enabling them to claim Indian citizenship, welfare benefits, and even voting rights.
The state government, acting on the exposé by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, has cancelled 50,000 fraudulent birth certificates and 47,000 Aadhaar cards, while registering 28 FIRs and arresting officials, agents, and even lawyers complicit in the racket. This unprecedented crackdown has sent shockwaves across India, raising alarm about the scale of infiltration and the systematic exploitation of administrative weaknesses.
बांगलादेशी, घुसखोरांचे जन्म प्रमाणपत्र व आधार कार्ड घोटाळा
50,000 जन्म प्रमाणपत्रे रद्द
47,000 आधार कार्ड रद्दमहाराष्ट्र सरकारने 27 गुन्हे/FIR नोंदवल्या आहेत. 2024 मध्ये बनावट कागदपत्रांद्वारे बेकायदेशीररित्या मिळवलेली 50,000 जन्म प्रमाणपत्रे रद्द करण्यात आली आहेत.
या… pic.twitter.com/KGZP4DqXl6
— Kirit Somaiya (@KiritSomaiya) September 28, 2025
Somaiya revealed that the scam took off after the 2024 amendment of birth registration rules, which transferred powers from judicial magistrates to tehsildars. This seemingly minor change opened floodgates for mass forgery, as politically connected middlemen and corrupt officials allegedly colluded to approve birth certificates for individuals without any verifiable record of birth in India.
According to Somaiya, of the 224,000 birth certificates issued in Maharashtra in 2024, an astonishing 97% were obtained by Muslims of Bangladeshi origin, many aged between 25 to 50 years—people who could not plausibly have applied for legitimate certificates decades later.
“This is not just fraud—it is a national security crisis. These infiltrators were handed documents that give them access to voting rights, government schemes, and property ownership. It is a direct assault on India’s sovereignty,” Somaiya declared at a press conference in Mumbai.
How the scam worked
- Step One – Birth Certificates: Infiltrators allegedly bribed municipal staff to secure backdated birth certificates.
- Step Two – Aadhaar Manipulation: Using these certificates, they applied to UIDAI to alter their Aadhaar details, particularly dates of birth.
- Step Three – Citizenship Claim: With Aadhaar and birth documents in hand, they gained access to ration cards, voter IDs, and even property ownership.
- Step Four – Political Exploitation: Large-scale infiltration in districts like Malegaon, Mumbai (Mankhurd), and Sambhajinagar raised suspicions of vote bank engineering.
District-Wise Breakdowns
Malegaon:
- 3,977 fake birth certificates cancelled.
- Five FIRs filed.
- 539 individuals already charge-sheeted.
- 1,500 more under probe.
- 28 government employees and 43 lawyers arrested for aiding the scam.
Mankhurd (Mumbai):
- 103 fraudulent certificates unearthed in a single municipal office.
- A corrupt BMC officer allegedly expanded approvals meant for 3 people into 106 documents.
Sambhajinagar:
- Complaints against 800 individuals.
- 140 already produced in court.
Somaiya noted that the dramatic fall in birth certificate applications from 224,000 in 2024 to just 2,000 in 2025 reflects how administrative tightening has crippled the racket.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has now cancelled 47,000 Aadhaar cards linked to fraudulent birth records. Officials confirmed that many applicants had deliberately altered their dates of birth to match fake certificates, a red flag pointing to organised rackets.
Somaiya has demanded that the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) take over investigations, warning that the forged documents could have been used by infiltrators for terror funding, sleeper cell activities, and electoral manipulation. “This is not just paperwork fraud it’s demographic invasion. Infiltrators are quietly becoming voters and claimants of Indian welfare schemes, threatening both security and democracy,” Somaiya warned.
While praising the Devendra Fadnavis government for acting decisively, Somaiya tore into the Uddhav Thackeray-led administration, alleging it turned a blind eye to the racket. “Uddhav’s governance was about enriching his coterie, while Fadnavis has taken the bold step of exposing and dismantling this scam. Maharashtra has set an example for the nation,” he said.
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