AIMIM corporator, school principal arrested in fake birth certificate case

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: An AIMIM corporator and a private school principal were arrested by City Chowk police on Tuesday for allegedly forging documents to conceal the corporator's third child and remain eligible to contest the 2026 civic elections, officials said.The accused, identified as corporator Meraj Khan and Wise English School principal Ilyas Qadir Siddiqui, were taken into custody soon after an FIR was registered, deputy commissioner of police Pankaj Atulkar confirmed.According to the complaint filed by assistant inspector Manisha Hivarale, the case came to light during the probe into a separate offence involving attempt to murder, rioting and criminal conspiracy registered in March. "During the probe, the police detained a 14-year-old boy who initially identified himself as the son of Minhaj Khan. However, scrutiny of his Aadhaar card and subsequent verification allegedly revealed discrepancies in his identity and parentage," ACP Sagar Deshmukh said.Further verification revealed that the minor was studying at Wise English School in Dilras Colony. The police said the school principal submitted a bonafide certificate identifying the boy as son of Minhaj Khan.Investigators later found that a birth certificate sent to the school via WhatsApp on Jan 22, 2026, was allegedly forged and used to falsely establish the child's identity.The probe also revealed that while filing his affidavit for the 2026 Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation elections, Meraj Khan had declared only two children, allegedly omitting the 14-year-old.The police said the accused conspired to create forged birth and school records to project that the child did not belong to the corporator, thereby enabling him to contest under the two-child norm. By allegedly filing a false declaration and winning the election, the corporator also drew honorarium and allowances, causing financial loss to the government.The accused have been booked under sections 318(4), 338, 336(3), 340(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating, forgery, fabrication of documents and criminal conspiracy. Further investigation is underway, police said.