Chhotaudepur Caste Certificate Racket Extends to Local Panchayat Official

A Village Computer Entrepreneur (VCE) operating out of Ratanpura (N) group gram panchayat was arrested by Nasswadi police for allegedly running an illegal racket issuing fake Scheduled Tribe (ST) caste certificates for ₹500 each.

The fraud unravelled during a routine document verification drive at the Nasswadi Mamlatdar office. An applicant, Prabhubhai Rathwa from Khapariya village, submitted a caste certificate issued in 2024 as supporting proof for a fresh application. Sensing discrepancies in the document, revenue officials ran a check, confirming the certificate was entirely fraudulent.

Following the discovery, the Nasswadi Mamlatdar filed a formal criminal complaint against both Rathwa and the VCE, Sarfaraz Vinodbhai Bhil. Acting on the FIR, police moved quickly to detain Bhil within hours of the complaint being registered.

Commercial Fraud at Ground Level

During preliminary custodial interrogation, Bhil confessed to forging official seals and documents to issue illicit ST certificates to local applicants for a fixed fee of ₹500. Investigators are now scrutinising local land and administrative records to track how long the operation had been active.

Local law enforcement officials confirmed that remands are being processed to determine the broader footprint of the operation. Police are focusing on three main angles:

• The exact number of fake ST certificates generated by the suspect so far.
• The identity of all beneficiaries who obtained these documents to access government benefits or reservations.
• The potential involvement of administrative insiders or external accomplices facilitating the forgery.

Political chatter has intensified across Chhotaudepur district regarding the accused family's alleged ties with the local Congress unit. However, senior police officers maintained that the investigation remains strictly evidence-based and further arrests will depend on findings emerging from the remand period.