Changez Multani allegedly did this so he could qualify as candidate for Jogeshwari ward, which has been reserved for OBC candidates
(Left) Corporator Changez Multani and Activist Asad Patel
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Ex-corporator Changez Multani, who is re-contesting the BMC elections from ward number 62 in Jogeshwari, has been accused of submitting a fake caste certificate. In the previous election in 2012, Multani had contested and won in the open category. However, the ward has now been reserved for candidates with Other Backward Caste (OBC) background.
“The sitting municipal corporator Changez Jamal Multani used his influence, muscle and money power and abused his post and position to obtain his caste certificate by corrupt and criminal practices,” alleged local resident and RTI activist Asad Patel, who had filed an RTI application to get to the bottom of the matter. The replies to his RTI query highlighted several irregularities in Multani’s documents.
Multani or Pathan?
Multani’s OBC certificate was issued unusually fast — he had applied for it on October 23, 2015 and in just eight days, he received a certificate signed by Deputy Collector (Land Acquisition) Suburban District.
What’s strange is that the documents he provided for the caste certificate don’t match with his old records held by the BMC. Patel has alleged that Multani submitted a fake birth certificate so he could change his name and prove he qualified for the OBC certificate. Take his father’s name, for instance. In the birth certificate provided by Multani, his father’s name is listed as Jamal Multani. However, when activist Patel check an extract of birth records from the BMC registry, Multani’s father’s name is listed as Mehmad Yusuf Pathan.
Then, take the candidate’s own name. In his school leaving certificate, his name is listed as Master Pattan Changez Khan Jamal. This matches his father’s name in the old records as well. However, it lacks the ‘Multani’ surname from the Pinjara caste/tribe. In the birth certificate that the candidate has provided, however, his name is changed to Changez Jamal Multani. On the other hand, the BMC has no record of Multani changing his name.
Unauthorised login
On digging a little further, Patel found out that the birth certificate with the changed name had been issued by someone who had logged into the database at 6:17 pm - when the office had already shut. After this suspicious detail came to light, on June 13, 2016, the authorities ordered an inquiry into the misuse of login ID. However, no investigation has been done so far, said the activist.
Patel has now written to anti-corruption officials and the state election commission, along with the police and municipal authorities, demanding that Multani’s caste certificate and his election candidature both be cancelled. He has also demanded that an FIR be registered against Multani.
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