Rajasthan ATS busts fake Aadhaar racket in Bhadra; accused used rubber fingerprints and iris photocopies
One arrested as centre in Hanumangarh allegedly issued Aadhaar cards using dummy fingerprints and others' operator IDs
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Jaipur: The Rajasthan Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Hanumangarh district police have arrested a man for allegedly running an illegal Aadhaar enrolment centre in Bhadra where cards were being generated using rubber dummy fingerprints, photocopies of iris scans and the stolen operator IDs of other enrolment agents. The accused, Kuldeep Sharma, was caught during a joint raid at a centre near the Arya Samaj Dharamshala, close to the Bhadra municipal office, officials said.
The operation was carried out under the overall command of Additional Director General of Police (ATS and AGTF) Dinesh M.N., with supervision from ATS IG Rajesh Singh, DIG Yogesh Yadav and SP Gyanchand Yadav. According to the ATS, ASI Kulveer Singh and Head Constable Suresh Kumar of its Jaipur unit developed the original intelligence that Aadhaar cards were allegedly being prepared at the centre and being used for cybercrime and other illegal purposes.
After verifying the input, a joint team was deployed under the direction of Hanumangarh SP Narendra Singh Meena, with support from DSP (SC/ST Cell) and AGTF in-charge Karan Singh and the local Bhadra police. During the raid, officers allegedly found that Sharma was operating the Aadhaar enrolment centre using the operator credentials of two other agents — Jaswant and Amir Khan — without their authorisation.
Police said they recovered red and white rubber “dummy fingerprints” that the accused allegedly used to log into the Aadhaar enrolment system, along with paper photocopies of iris scans that were held up against the iris-scanning device to bypass biometric verification. Sharma was also allegedly forging the signatures of Jaswant and Amir Khan on the enrolment receipts.
Investigators flagged the racket as a serious national security concern, saying Aadhaar cards generated through such means could be used to obtain fraudulent SIM cards, open bank accounts for cyber fraud and potentially assist anti-national activity. The ATS said timely intelligence had helped disrupt a larger conspiracy.
A laptop, printer, iris device, palm fingerprint device, GPS device, fingerprint dye, camera and the accused’s mobile phone were seized from the centre. A case has been registered against Sharma under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act. Given the gravity of the matter, further investigation has been handed to Bhirani Station House Officer Lakhveer Singh.
During initial questioning, the joint team is attempting to identify individuals who allegedly obtained Aadhaar cards through the racket and whether it has links to any inter-state network or organised cybercrime group, police said. Data from the accused’s mobile phone and laptop is being sent for forensic analysis. The raiding party also included Bhadra SHO Hanumana Ram and constables Devilal, Madan, Vikas and Ashok.
