Thane, Apr 17 (PTI) All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) corporator Sahar Sheikh’s father, against whom the Thane tehsildar has sought a criminal case over “fake” caste certificate, on Friday blamed her political rivals for the row and said he will furnish authentic documents to back his stand.
Two days ago, the Thane Tehsildar’s office recommended registration of a criminal case against Yunus Iqbal Sheikh, father of Mumbra corporator Sahar Sheikh, for allegedly using a fake caste certificate and obtaining a caste (OBC) certificate for his daughter on its basis.
The recommendation followed an inquiry by tehsildar Umesh Patil into a complaint filed by Siddiqui Farha Shabab Ahmed, the losing rival candidate of the NCP who challenged the validity of Sahar’s caste certificate after the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) polls. Ahmed lost to Sahar in Mumbra in Thane, where civic polls were held in January.
Talking to reporters, Yunus Sheikh said the caste certificate controversy was engineered by opponents of the AIMIM corporator as they were unable to digest the political growth of his daughter and hence were resorting to such measures.
He said he would prove his stand on the issue with authentic documents.
“Wait for two days and I will give a befitting reply to all the allegations,” Yunus Sheikh stated.
He maintained the tehsildar has only given a report and not issued any order over the certificate issue.
Meanwhile, Sahar Sheikh, who has been unreachable since the last two days, posted a cryptic “Game over” message on social media on Thursday night when she was spotted watching an IPL match at the Wankhede Stadium in south Mumbai.
The tehsildar report, submitted to the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) on March 25, concluded that Yunus Sheikh prima facie misled four government agencies, including the State Election Commission.
His OBC certificate of 2011 did not conform to the official format, lacked the SDO’s mandatory signature, and omitted “State of Maharashtra” from its title, it said.
Authorities found that Sheikh’s father and uncle were originally residents of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Under the Maharashtra Caste Certificate Act, 2000, migrants must obtain Form-10 certificates. Sheikh allegedly tampered with documents to obtain a certificate under Form-8, which is reserved for native residents.
Further, he obtained a caste certificate for Sahar Sheikh in 2018 using his own “prima facie fake” certificate, said the report. Though the family lived in Thane, Sahar Sheikh’s certificate was obtained from the Mumbai City Collector’s office.
The tehsildar recommended immediate cancellation of all such certificates and registration of an FIR for cheating and fraud against Yunus Sheikh. PTI COR RSY
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