AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 8613 - Frequent cases of chain snatching throw police into a tizzy

In 2009, I became extremely concerned with the concept of Unique Identity for various reasons. Connected with many like minded highly educated people who were all concerned.

On 18th May 2010, I started this Blog to capture anything and everything I came across on the topic. This blog with its million hits is a testament to my concerns about loss of privacy and fear of the ID being misused and possible Criminal activities it could lead to.

In 2017 the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict after one of the longest hearings on any issue. I did my bit and appealed to the Supreme Court Judges too through an On Line Petition.

In 2019 the Aadhaar Legislation has been revised and passed by the two houses of the Parliament of India making it Legal. I am no Legal Eagle so my Opinion carries no weight except with people opposed to the very concept.

In 2019, this Blog now just captures on a Daily Basis list of Articles Published on anything to do with Aadhaar as obtained from Daily Google Searches and nothing more. Cannot burn the midnight candle any longer.

"In Matters of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place"- Mahatma Gandhi

Ram Krishnaswamy

Sydney, Australia.

Aadhaar

The UIDAI has taken two successive governments in India and the entire world for a ride. It identifies nothing. It is not unique. The entire UID data has never been verified and audited. The UID cannot be used for governance, financial databases or anything. It’s use is the biggest threat to national security since independence. – Anupam Saraph 2018

When I opposed Aadhaar in 2010 , I was called a BJP stooge. In 2016 I am still opposing Aadhaar for the same reasons and I am told I am a Congress die hard. No one wants to see why I oppose Aadhaar as it is too difficult. Plus Aadhaar is FREE so why not get one ? Ram Krishnaswamy

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Mahatma Gandhi

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.Mahatma Gandhi

“The invasion of privacy is of no consequence because privacy is not a fundamental right and has no meaning under Article 21. The right to privacy is not a guaranteed under the constitution, because privacy is not a fundamental right.” Article 21 of the Indian constitution refers to the right to life and liberty -Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi

“There is merit in the complaints. You are unwittingly allowing snooping, harassment and commercial exploitation. The information about an individual obtained by the UIDAI while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a court for the purpose of criminal investigation.”-A three judge bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar said in an interim order.

Legal scholar Usha Ramanathan describes UID as an inverse of sunshine laws like the Right to Information. While the RTI makes the state transparent to the citizen, the UID does the inverse: it makes the citizen transparent to the state, she says.

Good idea gone bad
I have written earlier that UID/Aadhaar was a poorly designed, unreliable and expensive solution to the really good idea of providing national identification for over a billion Indians. My petition contends that UID in its current form violates the right to privacy of a citizen, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is because sensitive biometric and demographic information of citizens are with enrolment agencies, registrars and sub-registrars who have no legal liability for any misuse of this data. This petition has opened up the larger discussion on privacy rights for Indians. The current Article 21 interpretation by the Supreme Court was done decades ago, before the advent of internet and today’s technology and all the new privacy challenges that have arisen as a consequence.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Rajya Sabha

“What is Aadhaar? There is enormous confusion. That Aadhaar will identify people who are entitled for subsidy. No. Aadhaar doesn’t determine who is eligible and who isn’t,” Jairam Ramesh

But Aadhaar has been mythologised during the previous government by its creators into some technology super force that will transform governance in a miraculous manner. I even read an article recently that compared Aadhaar to some revolution and quoted a 1930s historian, Will Durant.Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP

“I know you will say that it is not mandatory. But, it is compulsorily mandatorily voluntary,” Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Saba April 2017.

August 24, 2017: The nine-judge Constitution Bench rules that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty”and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” -Edward Snowden

In the Supreme Court, Meenakshi Arora, one of the senior counsel in the case, compared it to living under a general, perpetual, nation-wide criminal warrant.

Had never thought of it that way, but living in the Aadhaar universe is like living in a prison. All of us are treated like criminals with barely any rights or recourse and gatekeepers have absolute power on you and your life.

Announcing the launch of the # BreakAadhaarChainscampaign, culminating with events in multiple cities on 12th Jan. This is the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the Supreme Court hearings start on 17th Jan 2018. In collaboration with @no2uidand@rozi_roti.

UIDAI's security seems to be founded on four time tested pillars of security idiocy

1) Denial

2) Issue fiats and point finger

3) Shoot messenger

4) Bury head in sand.

God Save India

Friday, August 28, 2015

8613 - Frequent cases of chain snatching throw police into a tizzy - The Hindu

August 27, 2015

Frequent cases of chain snatching throw police into a tizzy

ASIF YAR KHAN

(Illustration:Subyendu Ganguly)

Is a new chain snatching gang operating in the city? It could be a big ‘yes’, taking into account the new modus operandi adopted by chain snatchers.

Chain snatchings are not an uncommon occurrence in the city with a few hundred cases being reported in Hyderabad and Cyberabad every year. However, the new modus operandi of striking women riding pillion on two-wheelers on thoroughfares has caught the police off guard. While the police are putting in all efforts to stop the menace, the frequent change in timings and places is worrying them. Last Wednesday, the snatchers targeted women pillion riders at four places on the L.B. Nagar and Chaderghat stretch between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. At Chaderghat, a woman slipped from the scooter and sustained injuries.

On Monday afternoon, a gang struck at Chandrayangutta and yanked off a 30-grams gold chain from a housewife and before striking at this thoroughfare, the gang resorted to chain snatching at Meerpet and Hayatnagar. Similar cases were also reported at different police stations in the city and Cyberabad where offenders adopted the same modus operandi.

What puzzles the police is the fact that most chain snatchers are in jail while a few are on the run, yet incidents are continuously being reported. Moreover, unlike the local offenders or Iranian gangs who targeted women walking in secluded places or thoroughfares during less traffic hours, the new gangs are striking during rush hour too. A section of police officers surmise that taking into account the ruthlessness and boldness, a new gang could be camping in the city or visiting for a short period of time. “Earlier, only three to four such cases were reported every year but for the last couple of months, more such instances are being reported,” a police official said.

Following the death of a woman, Sumitra, at the hands of chain snatchers at Osmania University a month ago, the police launched a massive hunt to nab the offenders but registered little success. On the other hand, the police have also taken up massive vehicle checking operations across the city in the hope of getting some clues.

OF FAKE PASSPORTS AND PROBE

More often than not, the police have caught people with multiple passports through fraudulent means, mainly by bribing policemen. Senior police officials have time and again said they would plug in the loopholes in the system but not much has changed.

The recent case of 35 illegal immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh obtaining Indian passports through fraudulently acquired documents and bribing Special Branch officials, is a case of empty assurance. The police now need to look into how passport agents managed to obtain original Aadhaar cards and Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) with the help of which they applied for passports.

Unless persons providing Aadhaar cards and EPICs to brokers are caught, there is always scope for more such cases. A classic example is the credit card fraud racket busted by the Cyberabad police recently. The accused, M. Jagan Mohan Reddy, along with 13 of his associates, managed to cheat banks to the tune of Rs. 60 lakh by obtaining credit cards, which in turn, is acquired through fake EPIC and PAN cards. The city police also need to expand their probe to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) employees as their role in the recent passport scam is suspected.

Reporting by

Asif Yar Khan