33 fake birth certificates cancelled by MMCH Registrar; Garhwa-pragya kendra link under scanner
THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK Daltonganj, September 14: A cross-border racket involving the issuance of fake birth certificates has been unearthed, with a…
Medinirai Medical College and Hospital (MMCH), Daltonganj.
THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, September 14: A cross-border racket involving the issuance of fake birth certificates has been unearthed, with a Pragya Kendra in Garhwa district’s Meral block emerging at the centre of the alleged fraud.
The case has once again brought the role of outsourced computer operators at government service centres under scrutiny, as preliminary findings suggest that much of the alleged manipulation and forgery took place at the computer desk. The trail of the fake birth certificates has been traced to Meral block in Garhwa district.
A total of 33 birth certificates issued through a Pragya Kendra in Meral block have been cancelled, sources said. The certificates were allegedly issued based on forged admission and discharge tickets purportedly relating to mothers and their babies at the Labour Room of MMCH Daltonganj on different dates between 2006 and 2026.
Sources said the 33 certificates span several years, including 2006, 2007, 2015 and 2018, among others.
MMCH Registrar confirms cancellation of 33 certificates
Dr Vijay Kumar Singh, Deputy Superintendent of MMCH Daltonganj and Registrar of Birth and Death Certificates at the hospital, confirmed the cancellation.
“33 birth certificates issued digitally by a particular Pragya Kendra in Meral block under Garhwa district using forged admission and discharge tickets of MMCH Daltonganj have been cancelled,” Dr Singh said.
Of the 33 cancelled certificates, 25 belonged to applicants from Garhwa district, while the remaining certificates were issued to applicants from Palamu district.
According to Dr Singh, the matter first came to the notice of a Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Garhwa, who took cognisance of the suspicious issuance of birth certificates over a period of time through a Pragya Kendra in Meral.
The Sub-Divisional Magistrate subsequently alerted the Meral police and directed them to investigate the matter.
Since the certificates were based on purported admission and discharge records of mothers and their babies at MMCH Daltonganj, Meral police issued a notice to Dr Singh, seeking clarification.
“We received the notice from Meral police on August 29 and submitted a detailed report on September 2,” Dr Singh said.
No MMCH records found for 33 cases
According to Dr Singh, the hospital’s records clearly established that there were no admission, delivery or discharge records for the 33 patients against whom the purported MMCH documents had allegedly been used to digitally issue the birth certificates.
“All 33 cases were found to be forged and fake,” sources said.
Login credentials and digital signature allegedly misused
The investigation has also raised questions over the alleged misuse of the Registrar’s login credentials and digital signature.
“The login ID and password were abused, and the digital signature of the Registrar of Birth and Death Certificates was fraudulently misused by computer operator Amit Kumar and Sheo Kumar Sao,” Dr Singh alleged.
Amit Kumar is an outsourced computer operator, while Sao is described by MMCH sources as his helper.
Amit Kumar was issued a show-cause notice. Sao, who is an outsider but is known to MMCH personnel, was not issued a show-cause notice, sources said.
Dr Singh said Amit Kumar denied any role in the alleged misuse of the login ID and password and instead pointed the finger at Sao.
In his response to the show-cause notice, Amit Kumar reportedly stated that Sao had been attached to the work of issuing admission, delivery and discharge tickets after Hospital Manager S Srivastav instructed him to engage Sao because of a backlog of such work.
However, MMCH sources said there was no written record establishing that Hospital Manager S Srivastav had formally assigned Sao to work with Amit Kumar.
According to Dr Singh, Amit Kumar has also claimed that he received verbal instructions from the Hospital Manager to engage Sao, but has been unable to substantiate the claim.
Daltonganj and Meral police conducting separate inquiries
Dr Singh said the Daltonganj town police were informed in writing on September 5, with Amit Kumar and Sheo Narain Sao identified as being at the centre of the alleged forgery and fraud.
The Meral police and Daltonganj town police are investigating the matter separately.
The Registrar of Birth and Death Certificates at MMCH has urged the police in Garhwa and Daltonganj to take appropriate legal action against the two persons and investigate the wider network allegedly involved in the issuance of fake birth certificates.
MMCH begins scrutiny of old records
Following the detection of the 33 fake birth certificates, MMCH teams have started scrutinising admission, delivery and discharge tickets issued in recent months, sources said.
These records are used in the digital process of preparing birth and death certificates, making their verification important in determining whether similar irregularities occurred in other cases.
Dr Singh said the hospital would intensify its efforts to detect any further clandestine operation involving forged documents or misuse of digital credentials.
Meanwhile, another case has come under scrutiny in which two death certificates allegedly exist for the same person—one issued in Chhattisgarh. The matter is currently being examined by the authorities.
