Our Special Correspondent Jan 10, 2018 00:00 IST
Ranchi: A 24-year-old man who was selling fake Aadhaar cards for Rs 100 from an improvised workstation on wheels on the civil court premises here was arrested on Tuesday, exposing the vulnerability of the unique ID that is currently embroiled in a national debate over data leak.
An FIR had not been lodged against Abhijeet Kumar, a resident of Govindpur, Dhanbad,till the filing of this report in the evening. He was being questioned at Kotwali police station on an accomplice who managed to flee during the raid and others that might be involved in the scam.
Ranchi SDO A.K. Satyajit, who led the crackdown, said they had received a tip-off about this van that was both issuing and updating Aadhaar cards, besides other government documents such as PAN card and ration card. "The van was equipped with a printer, a scanner and a laminating machine. A banner outside listed the services being provided for a nominal fee," the SDO said.
District project officer of Unique Identification Authority of India Sameer Sagar said the UIDAI had authorised only agencies, not individuals, to rectify Aadhaar cards. "These two men were running a con business. We are probing the modus operandi in details," Sagar said.
Kotwali OC S.N. Mandal said the formality of lodging an FIR was under process.