On refusal of bribe, 2 UP officials add 100 years to children’s age in birth certificates

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A court in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly recently ordered the police to file a case against a village development officer and a village head who allegedly increased the age of two children by a century after the children’s family refused to shell out a bribe.

Two-year-old Sanket and four-year-old Shubh in Uttar Pradesh were reportedly registered as 102 and 104 in their birth certificates, because their parents did not pay bribe to officials.

According to SHO Tejpal Singh, Pawan Kumar, the children’s uncle, had gone to court and alleged that the birth certificates of his nephews Shubh and Sanket listed wrong years of birth.

Kumar accused the Village Development Officer Sushil Chand Agnihotri and head Pravin Misra of demanding Rs 500 for each birth certificate; Kumar said in the court, he had applied for the certificates online two months ago. When he refused to give the bribe, the years of birth were given as June 13, 1916 and January 6, 1918 on the certificates, instead of 2016 and 2018, as a retaliatory action in order to intimidate the family.

The SHO said the court issued an order for action on January 17, which is being processed accordingly.