Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has set up an SIT to probe the issuance of birth and death certificates on "delayed" applications amid complaints of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh living in parts of the state, an official said on Saturday.
The Special Investigation Team led by Inspector General Datta Karale will probe the issuance of birth and death certificates on delayed applications, the official from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) told PTI.
Delayed applications are made at least a year after the birth or death of a person.
The issue of Bangladeshis entering India and residing in the country illegally has gained prominence after the police arrested Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir, a 30-year-old Bangladeshi national, for the knife attack on actor Saif Ali Khan in Mumbai.
Confirming the development, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule told PTI that the probe will cover certificates already issued and applications received.
The government's decision to form a probe team follows BJP leader Kirit Somaiya's allegation of a birth certificate scam.
The former MP has alleged that 269 delayed birth registration orders were issued by the magistrate court of Akola City between January 2021 and December 2023.
But the tehsildar gave orders to register 4,849 delayed birth applications.
He has claimed that 11,864 delayed applications were made in Yavatmal, 15,845 in Akola, and 4,350 in Nagpur districts.
Somaiya has alleged that two lakh Bangladeshi Rohingyas have applied for birth certificates in Maharashtra, and a tehsildar was suspended in Malegaon in this connection.
Somaiya alleged that Akola, Amravati and Malegaon are emerging as main centres of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants.
He met the Akola district collector on Friday and demanded action over birth certificates allegedly issued to illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
The BJP leader also claimed 1,000 fake birth certificates were issued to people who are not residents of Anjangaon Surji village in Amravati district.
The Devendra Fadnavis government has launched a special drive to identify illegal immigrants, leading to the arrest of several Bangladeshis from various cities in Maharashtra over weeks.