A case of document fraud has surfaced in Haldwani in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand, where a CSC worker named Faizan Mikrani created fake email IDs using the names of a Hindu couple: Devendra Pandey and his wife, Nandi Pandey. Then, used those email accounts to generate a forged permanent residence certificate of Uttarakhand for a man named Raees Ahmad.
According to reports, Faizan misused 15-year-old documents and an old electricity bill belonging to Hindus to prepare the fake paperwork for Raees Ahmad, which later helped the accused take over government land and even claim benefits under state schemes.
बरेली निवासी फैजान मिकरानी ने देवेंद्र पांडे और उनकी पत्नी नंदी पांडे के नाम से फर्जी ईमेल आईडी बनाकर, उसी का दुरुपयोग कर दो स्थानीय रईस अहमद के नाम पर उत्तराखंड का स्थाई निवास प्रमाणपत्र तैयार करवाया।
इसमें 15 वर्ष पुराने हिंदू नाम वाले दस्तावेज और फर्जी बिजली बिल का सहारा… https://t.co/VqDOfYQmSg pic.twitter.com/KQ0kk6MzM8— bhUpi Panwar (@askbhupi) November 14, 2025
This entire racket was exposed after Kumaon Commissioner Deepak Rawat received a complaint, and the involvement of some government employees also surfaced during the inquiry.
Raids at two CSC centres reveal wide-scale forgery
Following the complaint, Kumaon Commissioner Deepak Rawat conducted raids at two Common Service Centres located in the Banbhulpura area of Haldwani on Thursday, 12th November. These raids were aimed at investigating allegations that forged permanent residence certificates were being issued through these centres. After the inspection, Commissioner Rawat directed officials to register cases against both CSC operators involved in the matter.
According to early findings, Faizan Mikrani, who also works as a clerk in the Haldwani tehsil, was at the centre of the forgery. He had issued a permanent residence certificate in the name of Raees Ahmed from Uttar Pradesh, but the certificate was created for an entirely different person who shared the same name. The fraud came to light when the original Raees Ahmed from Bareilly complained, saying that a residence certificate had been illegally generated using his identity.
हल्द्वानी के बनभूलपुरा स्थित कॉमन सर्विस सेंटर (सीएससी) में कुमाऊं कमिश्नर दीपक रावत ने अचानक छापेमारी कर बड़ा खुलासा किया। यहां रईस अहमद द्वारा नकली स्थाई निवास प्रमाण पत्र समेत अन्य दस्तावेजों बनाए गए। pic.twitter.com/xiYqgGH4jk
— bhUpi Panwar (@askbhupi) November 13, 2025
During the investigation, officers found that Faizan had been misusing people’s personal documents and mobile numbers to create fake certificates. When the Commissioner raided Faizan’s house and his CSC centre, several sensitive documents were recovered. These included Aadhaar cards, voter ID cards, PAN cards, old electricity bills and other government records belonging to multiple individuals. These documents were used to manufacture fake identities and certificates for people who were not eligible for them.
Commissioner Rawat commented that this case exposed a long-running pattern of fraud, where multiple documents had been used repeatedly to support various illegal applications. He stressed the need for complete transparency in all tehsils and asked officers to ensure that no certificate is issued without proper verification.
More officials suspected of being involved
During the raid, Rawat also found Faizan’s second CSC centre locked. He warned that anyone operating a service centre without valid permission inside the tehsil premises would face strict action. He personally spoke to Devendra Pandey, his wife Nandi, and another man named Jalees, whose names had been used by Faizan to create fake email IDs.
The investigation has so far revealed that other government employees may also be involved, especially in verifying the forged documents online. Commissioner Rawat asked the SDM of Haldwani to question the concerned Patwari and also directed the Police Circle Officer to conduct a detailed probe.
Officials also found that several old electricity bills had been repeatedly used to prepare fake documents, raising concerns about how easily such paperwork was being accepted as valid proof.
Forged documents used for encroachment in Banbhoolpura
The Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani has been facing issues related to illegal encroachment for many years. The latest findings suggest that people were using Faizan’s forged certificates to claim government land and present themselves as permanent residents of Uttarakhand. These forged papers helped encroachers settle in the area and avail government benefits even when they were not eligible.
Banbhoolpura’s history of violence over encroachment
The area has seen major violence in recent years whenever authorities attempted to remove illegal encroachments. In February 2024, Banbhoolpura erupted in large-scale violence when the administration went to demolish a madrasa that had been built on government land. A large mob attacked the police, pelted stones, set vehicles on fire, and even surrounded the Banbhoolpura police station. Several police personnel were injured and government property was destroyed.
Haldwani authorities, in compliance with a High Court order, had tried to remove encroachment from the land belonging to the Indian Railways. Around 4000 families had been illegally residing on the railway land. The protesters (mostly Muslims) claimed that the clearance of encroachments would affect a large number of women, children, and elderly persons residing in the area. The railway department had been facing difficulty in expanding the railway tracks due to encroachers squatting on the railway land. Several requests for increasing railway tracks in the region, according to the railway officials, were previously submitted to the government but were thwarted due to encroachment.