Assam: Aadhaar Verification Exposes Fake Birth Certificate Scam in Uparhali

A CORRESPONDENT

AZARA: A suspected fake birth certificate racket was unearthed at Uparhali under Palasbari police station on Thursday, and two persons were arrested in this connection, following a complaint regarding the preparation and use of forged birth certificates.

According to police sources, a written FIR was lodged by Paramananda Das (58 years), a resident of Uparhali village under Palasbari LAC, alleging that around two years ago, his sister, Malaya Das (45 years), had approached a shop named Ashim Store at Uparhali for the preparation of birth certificates of her daughters, Dhiyasa Das and Dhiyana Das. The shop, owned by Ashim Das of Khokhapara village, reportedly deals in xerox, printing, and online-related services.

The complainant stated that on May 4, at around 11:30 am, Malaya Das visited the SDC Office at Mirza to apply for Aadhaar cards for her daughters using the said certificates. However, during verification, the certificates were found to be fake.

Following this, Malaya Das reportedly contacted the owner of Ashim Store, who assured her that fresh, valid certificates would be provided. Later, on May 5, at around 10 pm, one Golap Das (30 years) of Rangamati village allegedly sent another birth certificate through WhatsApp, but discrepancies were again detected in the document.

Police said that on May 6, further verification conducted at Uparhali PHC confirmed that the certificates were forged. Subsequently, the informant party confronted the owner of Ashim Store, who allegedly admitted that the earlier certificates were duplicates, though he claimed the latest certificate was genuine.

The police conducted a search operation at the shop on Friday and recovered several suspected fake birth and death certificates along with computer accessories, including CPUs, monitors, and printers. All items were seized in the presence of witnesses following due legal procedure.

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