Cabinet division issues letter for measures to prevent fake certificates following Prothom Alo report

Following a report published by Prothom Alo concerning fraudulent birth and death registrations, the Cabinet Division has issued a letter to Deputy Commissioners across the country setting out four directives.

In the letter, dated 27 January, the Cabinet Division instructed them to supervise whether birth and death registration activities comply with the relevant laws and regulations, to monitor ongoing activities, to rectify irregularities, and to convene taskforce meetings regularly.

Referring to the Prothom Alo report, the letter states, “Recently, the daily Prothom Alo published a report regarding the unlawful registration of births and deaths by certain registrars at the field level. This is concerning and may call into question the transparency and credibility of birth and death registration activities.”

Earlier, on 8 January, the deputy commissioner of Brahmanbaria submitted a detailed investigation report to the cabinet division confirming the veracity of the Prothom Alo findings.

On 26 December, Prothom Alo published a report showing false births and deaths of children.

The investigation revealed that officials had created multiple fraudulent registrations by using the information of genuine individuals stored in the birth and death registration databases maintained at union parishad offices.

Prothom Alo collected a total of 509 records, including 258 birth registrations and 251 death registrations, from Sadekpur and Budhal unions under Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila, Koti union under Kasba Upazila, and Char Chartola union under Ashuganj Upazila.

Between 10 and 18 November last year, Prothom Alo visited five unions in Brahmanbaria to verify the information. The newspaper found extensive evidence of forgery in four of the five unions.

In response to both the Prothom Alo report and the investigation report submitted by the deputy commissioner of Brahmanbaria, the cabinet division has now issued a letter to all Deputy Commissioners nationwide setting out four new directives.

In the letter titled ‘Supervision and proper implementation of birth and death registration activities’, the cabinet division states that birth and death registration constitutes an important administrative function of the State.

It plays a vital role in establishing citizens’ legal identity, enabling access to various government services, and supporting statistics-based policy formulation.

The proper and timely implementation of this activity directly relates to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 19.9 of 16.

Recently, the daily Prothom Alo published a report regarding the unlawful registration of births and deaths by certain registrars at the field level.

This is concerning and may call into question the transparency and credibility of birth and death registration activities.

Referring to the report received from the deputy commissioner of Brahmanbaria regarding the published news, the letter states that a review of the report indicates the need for supervision and monitoring to ensure that birth and death registration activities are conducted properly.

The letter sets out four directives. It instructs the authorities to supervise whether all activities related to birth and death registration comply with the prevailing laws and regulations.

They must closely monitor birth and death registration activities. Before submitting the monthly progress report on registration activities, they must verify the information included in the report and take steps to rectify any inconsistencies.

They must also ensure the regular convening of meetings of the District Birth and Death Registration Taskforce and other taskforces at various levels.

Sharmin Akter Jahan, deputy commissioner of Brahmanbaria, told Prothom Alo that after the publication of the report, she held meetings with administrative officials involved in birth and death registration work in 100 unions, including Union Parishad secretaries, Union Parishad chairmen and Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs).

She stated that the authorities will strictly monitor the process of identifying fraudulent registrations and will take disciplinary action against those found responsible.

The deputy commissioner further stated that the administration investigated the four locations where Prothom Alo identified evidence of forgery and confirmed the authenticity of those findings.

Earlier, on 13 January, the deputy commissioner informed Prothom Alo that pressure to meet predetermined registration targets had primarily led to the creation of fraudulent registrations.

She added that the authorities had informed the cabinet division of the matter.

Although the cabinet division’s four directives do not contain any written decision regarding target fulfilment, discussions with administrative officials indicate that the authorities no longer exert pressure to meet numerical targets.

Officials have repeatedly instructed them to refrain from creating fraudulent registrations. At a meeting held on 11 January, the deputy commissioner directed them to carry out registrations strictly in accordance with accurate information.

The authorities have already transferred four administrative officials in connection with the fraudulent registrations.

Abu Nasar Mohammad Abdullah, additional secretary of the Local Government Division, currently holds additional responsibility as registrar general of Birth and Death Registration.

He told Prothom Alo that Brahmanbaria district had sent an investigation report to the Cabinet Division confirming the accuracy of the report published in Prothom Alo.

He added that, based on that investigation report, the Cabinet Division had issued directives to deputy commissioners across the country to take necessary measures.

The Office of the Registrar General will monitor the implementation of these directives and the initiation of departmental legal action against those involved.