5 from Jharkhand create 15,569 fake birth records on Maharashtra CRS portal; held

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: The Usmannagar police in Nanded arrested five people from Jharkhand for allegedly creating 15,569 fake birth records on Maharashtra govt's civil registration system (CRS) portal by misusing login credentials of a gram panchayat in the district. The FIR was registered on Feb 4 under BNS sections 318(4), 337, 336(3), 340(2), 338, along with sections 65 and 66 of the Information Technology Act.The arrested accused have been identified as Jitendra Kumar Singh (52), a builder from Amarakhass in Bishunpur taluka of Garhwa district, Om Prakash Mishra (33), an internet centre operator from Redma in Daltonganj, Palamu district, currently residing in Ashok Nagar, Ranchi, Laxmi Pandit (34), a private employee from Ashokpuram, Ranchi, Sumit Kumar Singh (27), a CRS centre operator from Bajra Badka Toli, Ranchi; and Satish Kumar (35), a CSC centre operator from Hethu post, Ranchi.The police action followed a complaint lodged by Bhavana Kawale (35), a gram panchayat officer of Savaleshwar in Kandhar taluka. The police said the CRS portal user ID MH20362RE was in her custody when an unidentified person allegedly accessed it online and, without her consent, generated 15,569 bogus birth entries between May 1 and Nov 30, 2025, thereby cheating Maharashtra govt.Nanded superintendent of police Abinash Kumar said, "The accused people gained unauthorised access to the CRS portal credentials of the Savaleshwar gram panchayat and created 15,569 fake birth records over a period of seven months. The manipulation was detected during scrutiny of records, following which a case was registered, and a detailed cyber investigation was initiated."He added, "With the help of the cyber cell and technical analysis of digital footprints, our team traced the operation to Jharkhand. A special team was sent there after obtaining necessary permissions, and five people were arrested from Ranchi and Garhwa districts. We are probing the financial trail and the possible use of these fake birth certificates."During the investigation, the Usmannagar police team, assisted by the Nanded cyber cell and acting on technical inputs, travelled to Ranchi and Garhwa districts in Jharkhand. The police said the involvement of the accused was established during questioning and analysis of electronic evidence.The accused were brought to Nanded after transit formalities and produced before a local court, which granted police custody remand for further investigation. Further probe is being conducted by inspector N S Ailane of Loha police station.