27,000 birth and death docus in village with 1,300 population: Maharashtra govt forms SIT

Mumbai, Jan 5 (PTI) The Maharashtra government has formed a Special Investigation Team to probe alleged irregularities in the Civil Registration System (CRS) software records after around 27,000 birth and death registrations were generated in a village with a population of 1,300, officials said.

While the population of Shendursani Gram Panchayat is approximately 1,300, the number of birth and death certificates generated through the Civil Registration System (CRS) is around 27,000.

This figure is grossly inconsistent with the village’s demographic profile and raises strong suspicion of misuse, manipulation, or fraudulent activity involving the digital registration platform.

Preliminary information indicates a highly disproportionate and alarming anomaly in the registration data, an official said on Monday.

Officials had said in December that 27,398 "delayed birth registrations" were registered in the village in just three months.

A criminal offence has been registered at Yavatmal city police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology (IT) Act. The investigation is presently being led by the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Yavatmal, he said.

In view of the gravity and potential implications of the matter, the Home Department has decided to initiate a comprehensive investigation through the SIT under the supervision of the ADG, Maharashtra Cyber, with the Deputy Director of Health Services and the District Health Officer as members, he said.

The SIT has also planned a field visit to the Gram Panchayat later this week to conduct ground-level verification, examine operational processes, and identify systemic and procedural gaps that may have been exploited, the official said.

The visit will also support the formulation of corrective measures and preventive guidelines aimed at ensuring the integrity of digital registration systems and safeguarding public trust, he added.

In a recent meeting of the SIT, key observations were recorded, and necessary supervisory notes were issued to the Investigation Officer to ensure strict compliance during the course of the probe, the official said.

A detailed technical investigative directive has also been issued, including a comprehensive analysis of IP logs and the questioning of individuals in whose names false certificates appear to have been generated, in order to ascertain the modus operandi and identify those responsible, he added. PTI DC NSK