Kolkata, 1 August (H.S.) -In a major crackdown on identity fraud, the Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police has unearthed a fake Aadhaar card racket being operated under the guise of a legitimate Aadhaar enrollment center. Two individuals—Sheikh Miraj Hussain and Abdul Kuddus—have been arrested in connection with the case.
According to police sources, the accused were producing forged Aadhaar cards, including for Bangladeshi infiltrators, using a sophisticated modus operandi. The arrests were made during a raid in Birbhum district. An STF officer said the duo had been detained on Thursday and formally arrested following extended interrogation.
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Fake Enrollments Using Authorized Laptop
The fraud was reportedly being conducted from an area near Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. However, the technical operations were being carried out using a laptop registered to a genuine Aadhaar center in Birbhum. This laptop, uniquely linked to the Aadhaar system via a registered MAC ID and GPS location, was manipulated to carry out fraudulent activities remotely.
The accused allegedly altered the MAC ID of the official device and spoofed its GPS location to make it appear as if the operations were still based in Birbhum. The forgery even extended to fingerprint verification systems, which were tampered with to deceive the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
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Suspected Involvement of Bangladeshi Nationals
Authorities suspect that several Aadhaar cards may have been issued illegally to Bangladeshi nationals using this method. Multiple laptops have been seized from the accused, and forensic analysis is underway to determine the exact scale of the operation and how many fake IDs were created.
Investigators have also traced possible links to other regions. In addition to Birbhum, the network is believed to have connections to Birati in North 24 Parganas and even to an individual in Uttar Pradesh, whose whereabouts are currently being traced.
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Breach Despite Security Protocols
The UIDAI typically mandates strict protocols for Aadhaar centers, including device-specific MAC IDs, registered geographic locations, and biometric registration of data entry operators. Despite these safeguards, the racket successfully exploited technical loopholes to undermine the system.
The police have launched a broader probe to identify other individuals involved and determine the full extent of the racket, raising concerns about potential national security implications.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
