Kolkata, Jul 23 (PTI) Police on Thursday conducted searches at local bodies in several districts of West Bengal as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities in the issuance of birth and death certificates, officials said.
The searches were carried out in Kolkata, Birbhum, Cooch Behar, Paschim Bardhaman, Purba Bardhaman, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas districts, they said.
Police teams searched the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) headquarters and its borough offices 1, 2 and 10. The investigators examined birth and death registers, scrutinised computer records and collected documents from several crematoria as part of the probe, they added.
“The police are acting on specific complaints and are collecting relevant records as part of an ongoing investigation. The searches are being carried out in accordance with government directions, and no conclusion should be drawn until the inquiry is completed,” an official said.
In Cooch Behar district, police searched several gram panchayats in Tufanganj II block. At Mahishkuchi-I gram panchayat, officials seized birth and death registers, officials said.
Police also searched the municipalities of Siuri, Rampurhat and Dubrajpur in Birbhum district over allegations that birth and death certificates had been issued in violation of prescribed norms before the last assembly elections, they said.
Searches were also conducted at the Kulti civic body in Paschim Bardhaman district, Katwa municipality of Purba Bardhaman district, and Chinsurah and Baidyabati municipalities in Hooghly district, they added.
Searches were also conducted at Diamond Harbour Municipality in South 24 Parganas, and all 13 panchayats in Deganga block of North 24 Parganas.
Police have not disclosed the documents seized or whether any FIRs have been registered in connection with the investigation. PTI SCH SOM
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.