The Mumbai Crime Branch has taken over the investigation into a two-decade-old fake caste certificate case involving former BMC corporator Ramesh Kamble, following directions from the Bombay High Court. The case concerns allegations that Kamble contested the 2002 civic election from a seat reserved for Scheduled Castes using a forged caste certificate.
The complaint was filed by advocate Chitra Salunkhe, who initially alleged cheating, forgery, breach of trust and criminal breach of trust. Chembur police registered the case earlier this year and later submitted a ‘C’ summary closure report before the 11th Metropolitan Magistrate Court at Kurla.
A ‘C’ summary indicates that the police considered the complaint neither proved nor entirely false, or the result of a mistake or misunderstanding. Dissatisfied with the investigation, Salunkhe approached the Bombay High Court seeking a fresh probe by another agency.
The High Court last month directed the Mumbai Police Commissioner to transfer the investigation to another department. The commissioner subsequently assigned the matter to the Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), who has now taken charge of the further investigation.
The complaint alleges that Kamble submitted a caste certificate claiming that he was a Hindu Mahar, while alleging that he was Christian by birth. Kamble won the 2002 election from the reserved ward and served as a BMC corporator.
According to the complaint, the Divisional Caste Verification Committee at Konkan Bhavan declared the certificate invalid in 2005. The Bombay High Court and, subsequently, the Supreme Court upheld the caste verification committee’s findings, the report said.
The Crime Branch is expected to examine the allegations, the relevant documents, the circumstances surrounding the alleged use of the certificate and the earlier investigation conducted by Chembur police. “The case has just been referred to us. We will now examine the allegations, documents and circumstances surrounding the alleged use of the caste certificate and the earlier investigation conducted by Chembur police,” an official said.
The transfer places the case within a broader civic accountability framework because caste verification is directly linked to eligibility for seats reserved in municipal elections. The Crime Branch’s investigation will determine what further action, if any, follows from the court-backed transfer and the documents already collected in the case.
