Mumbai: A case has been registered in Mankhurd Police Station against a passport applicant Amol Laxman Sonawane (34), a resident of Shivneri Chawl No. 2, Annabhau Sathe Nagar, Mankhurd, for allegedly submitting a forged birth certificate of his father, Laxman Nivrutti Sonawane, to obtain an Indian passport.
During the passport verification process, the Special Branch 2, Mumbai, flagged the applicant’s father’s birth certificate for authenticity verification.
The birth certificate, purportedly issued by the Registrar (Births & Deaths), Women’s Hospital, Parbhani, was scanned using a QR code scanner, but no information was retrieved.
Further checks on the Government of India’s official website for birth and death records, https://crsorgi.gov.in, also failed to validate the certificate.
The matter was escalated to the then Senior Police Inspector, Mahadev Koli. On October 26, 2023, the suspicious birth certificate was sent via speed post to the Registrar (Births & Deaths), Women’s Hospital, Parbhani, for verification.
In response, the Medical Superintendent, Sandeep Gore, confirmed through letter that the said certificate had not been issued by their office.
Based on the findings, the Mankhurd Police registered a case against Amol Laxman Sonawane under Sections 465 (forgery), 466 (forgery of public record), 468 (forgery for cheating), 471 (using a forged document as genuine), and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. Additionally, action was taken under Section 12(1)(b) of the Passport Act.
