Sambhajinagar AIMIM corporator & school principal sent to 5-day police custody in fake birth certificate case

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A local court on Wednesday remanded AIMIM corporator Mehraj Khan Jalil Khan and school principal Iliyas Kadir Siddiqui to police custody till May 17 in connection with an alleged fake birth certificate and forged school documents case linked to the 2026 civic polls.The duo, arrested by the City Chowk police on Tuesday, were produced before the court, which granted five-day police custody to facilitate custodial interrogation.The police said the accused are suspected of creating forged birth and school records to conceal the corporator's alleged third child and enable him to contest the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation elections despite the two-child norm.Pankaj Atulkar, the deputy commissioner of police (Zone-I), said the investigation is at a crucial stage. "We are probing the alleged creation and use of forged documents, including birth-related records and school documents. The custodial interrogation is necessary to ascertain the role of each accused and to verify the source and authenticity of the documents submitted during the process," he said.Investigators are also examining digital evidence and possible wider irregularities. Assistant inspector Manoj Shinde, the investigating officer, said, "We are collecting documentary as well as digital evidence. The investigation includes verification of records, WhatsApp communication and the circumstances under which the documents were allegedly prepared and used."He added that police are also probing whether similar methods were used by other corporators to contest elections.According to the FIR, the alleged fraud came to light in March during the probe of another offence, when discrepancies were found in the identity and parentage details of a 14-year-old boy studying at a private school in Dilaras Colony.The police alleged that a fake birth certificate was used to show the child as belonging to another family, while the corporator, in his election affidavit, declared only two children.Apart from the corporator and the school principal, the FIR names five other accused, including the minor boy. They have been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating, forgery, fabrication of false documents and criminal conspiracy.