JAIPUR: A joint operation by Rajasthan ATS and Hanumangarh police on Friday exposed an illegal Aadhaar enrolment centre in the Bhadra area, where identity documents were allegedly being generated using forged biometric data, in a case officials said carries serious national security implications. The accused, identified as Kuldeep Sharma, was arrested on the spot for allegedly creating Aadhaar cards using the operator IDs of two individuals, Jaswant and Aamir Khan.
Biometric Safeguards Allegedly Bypassed
Investigators said the setup uncovered during the raid appeared to have been methodically organised to defeat biometric safeguards built into the Aadhaar enrolment system. The accused was allegedly using dummy fingerprints made from red and white rubber to gain unauthorised access to the enrolment process.
Police also recovered paper-based replicas of retina images, which were allegedly placed in front of iris scanners to bypass verification protocols. Further examination indicated that signatures on enrolment receipts were being forged in the names of legitimate operators, suggesting an effort to conceal the fraud and keep the operation running over time.
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Equipment Seized Points to Bulk Operations
Officials said hundreds of enrolment receipts were recovered from the site, indicating the scale of the racket. The material seized from the premises included a laptop, printer, iris scanning device, palm fingerprint scanner, GPS unit, camera, mobile phone, and materials used to fabricate biometric inputs, including fingerprint dye and rubber moulds.
Investigators believe the equipment was being used to produce Aadhaar cards in bulk through stolen or misused credentials. Forensic analysis of the seized laptop and mobile phone is underway to retrieve data related to past transactions, enrolments and possible collaborators. Officials said the findings so far suggest a well-planned operation with the potential to affect multiple states.
Wider Network Under Investigation
Officials warned that Aadhaar documents generated through such fraudulent means pose a grave threat because they can be used to obtain SIM cards, open bank accounts and facilitate financial fraud or other organised criminal activities. The possibility of such identities being used in activities prejudicial to national security is also under investigation.
The accused is being questioned by a joint team of ATS and district police to identify individuals who obtained Aadhaar cards through the illegal channel. Investigators are also examining whether the racket has links to a wider interstate network or organised cybercrime syndicates. SP (ATS) Gyan Chand Yadav said the breakthrough followed credible inputs that fraudulent Aadhaar enrolments were being carried out at the location and that such documents were being used in illegal activities.
