Man held for operating fake birth cert racket in Pakur

Dumka: A man allegedly operating a fake birth certificate racket for over a year in Pakur district was arrested on Monday, police said.The accused, identified as Hemant Kumar Saha, a resident of Bagshisha village under Hiranpur police station limits, was allegedly preparing forged birth certificates and duping villagers of Ramchandrapur Paharia Tola under Narottampur panchayat.Police and locals said that Hemant issued forged certificates to several people, charging between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000 per document. Investigators said he even created a clone of the official ‘civil registration system’ website to mislead villagers into believing the documents were genuine. The fraud surfaced when several residents approached Aadhaar centres, where their birth certificates were found invalid during verification.Suspecting foul play, villagers contacted Hemant on the pretext of procuring more certificates and called him to the village, where he was apprehended on Monday and handed over to authorities. An FIR was lodged on Monday with Mufassil police station on the basis of a complaint filed by panchayat secretary Uttam Kumar Ghosh. The accused was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody the same day.Sadar circle officer Arvind Kumar Bedia also reached the spot and conducted a preliminary inquiry.

“This is a serious case involving forged birth certificates and misuse of govt systems. A detailed probe is underway to identify all beneficiaries and possible accomplices,” Bedia said.Police said several documents were seized. A local cyber cafe operator was also questioned, though he claimed he was not involved in any illegal activity. Villagers demanded a thorough investigation and refund of money allegedly collected from victims.