Mumbai Police Take Action Against Ex-Corporator Murji Patel for Alleged False Caste Documentation

Mumbai, 16th March 2024: In Mumbai, the Shahu Nagar Police have taken action against former BJP corporator Murji Patel from Andheri East by registering an FIR. Patel is accused of providing false caste-related documentation to the Election Commission. Previously serving as a corporator in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Patel’s legal troubles emerged when Milind Patil, a legal officer associated with the Caste Validity Certificate Verification Committee, filed the FIR on February 16.

The committee initiated an inquiry after uncovering inconsistencies in the documents submitted by Patel concerning his ancestry dating back to his grandparents. The Bandra court recognized the severity of the issue and directed the police to register the FIR, treating the matter as a criminal offence.

During the pre-FIR investigation conducted by a three-member committee, which included Patil, it was discovered that Patel’s claimed Other Backward Caste (OBC) certificate was based on falsified documentation. Suspicion arose when the committee failed to locate the purported school from which Patel obtained his school leaving certificate, issued on June 8, 1997, a Sunday. Despite thorough searches, neither the school nor any relevant records could be found, casting doubt on the authenticity of Patel’s documents.

Furthermore, discrepancies regarding Patel’s parents’ names surfaced. While Patel’s father was listed as Lira Ambalal Patel and his mother as Jasubai in the birth certificate submitted, health department records indicated his father’s name as Limba Ambaji and his mother’s as Savitribai.

The charges against Patel include forgery under the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Maharashtra Scheduled Cases, Scheduled Tribes, Denotified Tribes, Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Case Certificate Act, 2000.

Currently, the police have documents provided by the committee, which they are scrutinizing. Patel is expected to be summoned for interrogation based on the investigation’s findings. DCP Tejaswi Satpute of Zone V confirmed that the investigation is ongoing.