Pune corporation system hacked, birth certificates forged

A serious breach of cyber security in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has come to light. Forged birth certificates were made by using a fake identity for the computer server of the civic body.  

This fraud came to light in a reply by the municipal corporation to civic activist Vijay Kumbhar who had asked a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, about the beneficiaries of a slum rehabilitation project at Mariamma Nagar, Mangalwar Peth. 

Through a previous letter, Kumbhar had complained about 12 bogus beneficiaries of the project. When he sought information about their birth certificates, he was told in a written reply that in the case of three beneficiaries there was no mention of the birth in the original register, but it was there in the computer. 

A login named ‘Jahangir’ was used for the purpose but nobody in the Kasba Peth Birth and Death registration office has such a login. This information was provided in the RTI reply by the additional registrar of the office.

Kumbhar has filed a complaint in this regard with municipal commissioner Mahesh Pathak. The complaint said that considering the bogus birth certificates, it is clear that the PMC server has been infiltrated by an outsider or an employee in a serious breach of security. He demanded that the municipal commissioner should ensure that an inquiry is conducted in the matter and the guilty are punished.

Kumbhar pointed out that this bogus birth certificates scam will have serious consequences.