Bengal govt launches district-wise verification against fake birth and death certificates

The West Bengal government has initiated a district-by-district drive to verify birth and death certificates following widespread reports of fraudulent issuances during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) period. Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal announced that state authorities and law enforcement agencies are actively scanning registers across municipalities and panchayats to ensure complete transparency. He emphasized that strict legal measures will be enforced against individuals knowingly involved in issuing or utilizing forged documents, with no concessions granted.

The verification drive comes after multiple post-election complaints and law enforcement inquiries revealed that fraudulent birth certificates were being used to secure school admissions and access various state benefits. To maintain official integrity, the Chief Secretary clarified that the scanning process will be conducted strictly by permanent government officials, completely barring contractual workers from handling sensitive register verification duties. Authorities reassured the public that legitimate certificate holders face no risk during the routine cross-checking exercise.

Following the Chief Secretary's directives, police teams have initiated inspections and raids across several districts, including Birbhum, Purulia, and Jhargram. All historical birth and death records created during the SIR timeline are being thoroughly audited to identify forged entries. Law enforcement officials confirmed that criminal cases will be registered against both the perpetrators issuing fake documents and the beneficiaries attempting to exploit them.