Thane, Apr 15 (PTI) The Thane Tehsildar’s office has recommended the registration of a criminal case against Yunus Iqbal Sheikh, AIMIM’s Mumbra corporator Sahar Sheikh’s father, for allegedly using a fake caste certificate and obtaining a caste certificate for his daughter on its basis.
Sahar Sheikh was in news after the municipal elections in January as she defeated an NCP (SP) candidate backed by local MLA Jitendra Awhad in her electoral debut, and vowed to “paint Mumbra green”. She later apologised over the remark.
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.
The 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’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 Shaikh. PTI COR KRK
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