In a startling case of alleged cyber fraud, the Maharashtra government has been forced to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe massive irregularities in the birth and death registration records of a small village in Yavatmal district.
Shocking Discrepancy Uncovered
The scandal came to light in Shendursani Gram Panchayat, located in Arni taluka. Authorities discovered an impossible anomaly: a staggering 27,397 births were registered in just three months in this village, which has an actual population of barely 1,500 residents. Additionally, seven death entries were also logged during this period.
The investigation was triggered during the implementation of a Government Resolution (GR) dated September 16, 2025, which ordered the cancellation of illegal and delayed birth and death registrations. The district health officer and the district registrar brought the bizarre data to the notice of the Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Parishad.
Formation of the Special Investigation Team
Acting swiftly on the findings, the state government announced the SIT on Wednesday. The high-powered team will function under the chairmanship of Additional Director General of Police (Cyber) Yashasvi Yadav. The other members include Deputy Director of Health, Babita Kamalapurkar, and Yavatmal District Health Officer, Subhash Dhole.
The committee has been given a strict mandate to complete its inquiry and submit a detailed report within three months. A preliminary committee headed by the deputy chief executive officer (Panchayat) had already visited the village and confirmed the entries were fraudulent.
A Sophisticated Cyber Fraud Scheme
Further technical scrutiny revealed the depth of the scam. All 27,397 birth and seven death entries were found to be completely fake and pertained to individuals living outside the jurisdiction of the gram panchayat. In a crucial twist, investigators found that the CRS ID of Shendursani Gram Panchayat was illegally mapped to Mumbai.
The matter was escalated to the office of the Additional Registrar General in Delhi and the National Informatics Centre (NIC) for a thorough technical examination. On December 11, their initial assessment indicated that the flood of fake entries was likely part of a coordinated cyber fraud operation.
The case has drawn serious political attention. BJP leader Kirit Somaiya commented on the development, stating, "This entire episode is extremely serious. A similar incident had occurred earlier in Rae Bareli. I discussed the matter with the chief minister and demanded the formation of an SIT for a thorough investigation." His statement underscores the potential scale and pattern of such frauds.
The formation of the SIT marks a critical step in unraveling how the Civil Registration System, a vital tool for documenting citizen data, was so severely compromised, raising significant concerns about data security and administrative oversight in the digital age.
