Maharashtra has uncovered one of the biggest fake documents scams in the country, exposing how thousands of Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators allegedly misused loopholes to get false birth certificates and Aadhaar cards, helping them claim Indian citizenship, welfare benefits and even voting rights.

The state government, acting on the revelations of BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, has cancelled 50,000 fake birth certificates and 47,000 Aadhaar cards, while also filing 28 FIRs and arresting officials, agents and lawyers accused of running the racket. The action has caused concern across India about how deeply the system was exploited.

Somaiya explained that the scam picked up speed after the 2024 change in rules for birth registration, when the power to issue certificates was moved from judicial magistrates to tehsildars. This change, he said, made it easy for middlemen and corrupt officials to work together and approve certificates for people who had no genuine record of birth in India.

He said that of the 224,000 birth certificates issued in Maharashtra in 2024, almost 97 per cent were taken by Muslims of Bangladeshi origin, many of them between 25 and 50 years old, who could not have legally applied for certificates so many years later.

"This is not just fraud—it is a national security crisis. These infiltrators were handed documents that give them access to voting rights, government schemes, and property ownership. It is a direct assault on India's sovereignty," Somaiya declared at a press conference in Mumbai.

Modus operandi

Step one, infiltrators allegedly bribed municipal staff to issue backdated birth certificates.
Step two, they used these certificates to change details in Aadhaar, especially dates of birth.
Step three, with both Aadhaar and birth certificates, they gained ration cards, voter IDs and property rights.
Step four, large-scale presence in places like Malegaon, Mankhurd in Mumbai and Sambhajinagar raised doubts of vote bank politics.

District-wise details
In Malegaon, 3,977 fake birth certificates were cancelled, five FIRs were filed, 539 people were charge sheeted, 1,500 more are under probe, and 28 government staff and 43 lawyers were arrested.
 
In Mankhurd, 103 fake certificates came from one municipal office where a BMC officer allegedly changed approvals meant for three people into 106 documents.
 
In Sambhajinagar, there were complaints against 800 people, and 140 have already been presented in court.

Somaiya pointed out that the sudden drop in birth certificate applications from 224,000 in 2024 to just 2,000 in 2025 shows how stricter checks have stopped the scam.

UIDAI has also cancelled 47,000 Aadhaar cards linked to fake birth records. Officials said that many applicants had changed their dates of birth to match false certificates, proving that organised groups were behind the racket.

Somaiya has asked for the Anti-Terrorism Squad to take over the case, warning that forged documents could be used for terror funding, sleeper cells and election fraud. "This is not just paperwork fraud, it’s demographic invasion. Infiltrators are quietly becoming voters and claimants of Indian welfare schemes, threatening both security and democracy," Somaiya warned.

He praised the Devendra Fadnavis government for acting strongly, while accusing the Uddhav Thackeray administration of ignoring the scam. "Uddhav's governance was about enriching his coterie, while Fadnavis has taken the bold step of exposing and dismantling this scam. Maharashtra has set an example for the nation," he said.