LUCKNOW, Dec. 12 -- The Rae Bareli district administration has launched a sweeping exercise to nullify 52,846 forged birth certificates allegedly issued across 12 gram panchayats in the Salon development block. The large-scale document fraud came under the scanner after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) flagged the region for irregularities during its probe into illegal Bangladeshi migrants and Rohingya infiltrators last year.The action marks a major step in the state's ongoing verification campaign targeting undocumented foreign nationals and identity fraud networks operating across multiple districts. Rae Bareli chief development officer (CDO) Anjulata confirmed that the nullification process has officially begun, with more than 878 fake certificates cancelled over the past three days. "A special team has been constituted, and the process will continue until all fraudulent certificates are cancelled," she said. According to the CDO, district panchayati raj officer (DPRO) Saumya Sheel Singh submitted a detailed report to the director general (Census) through the district magistrate's office in April 2025, and final approval for nullification arrived earlier this week. A senior police officer said the racket was first exposed in July 2024, when the NIA arrested Zakir, an illegal Bangladeshi migrant, from Bengaluru. He was found in possession of a forged birth certificate traced back to a village in the Salon block. "As the NIA expanded its investigation and arrested suspects involved in anti-national activities in Kerala and Karnataka, more fraudulent certificates emerged. Many of them pointed back to the same cluster of Rae Bareli villages," the officer said. He added that a subsequent probe by the UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Rae Bareli police confirmed that 12 panchayats had collectively issued 52,846 fake birth certificates -- many used by illegal foreign nationals seeking Indian identity, individuals involved in suspicious interstate activities, and people fraudulently attempting to access government schemes. The officer said the scale of the fraud poses a serious national-security risk. A senior Rae Bareli official said a 10-member verification team has been deployed at Vikas Bhavan, where a dedicated centre is handling cancellations. He said more than 878 certificates, including those issued in the name of Zakir, have already been cancelled, while the process for invalidating the remaining 52,000-plus certificates is under way and expected to take several days. DPRO Saumya Sheel Singh earlier said the affected villages include Dalhepur, Nooruddinpur, Prithvipur, Sanda Saidan, Madhopur Naniya, Lahurepur, Sirsira, Gadi Islamnagar, Aunanish, Gopal Anantpur and Dubhan. Dalhepur alone accounted for 13,707 fake certificates, followed by Nooruddinpur (10,151) and Prithvipur (9,393). Singh said the scam was uncovered after the arrest of village development officer Vijay Yadav; his associate and Jan Suvidha Kendra operator Zeeshan; Zeeshan's son, Riyaz; and a minor, following the registration of a case at the Salon police station on July 16, 2024. Investigations revealed that the accused misused login credentials of the CRS portal to generate bulk entries without proper verification or valid residential details....