Aadhaar Manipulated, Cyber Cell Nabs 17 On UIDAI Complaint

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Acting on the Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI) complaint of the misuse of the portal for Aadhaar manipulation, the Cyber Police have arrested 17 accused so far in the 2023 police constable recruitment exam, said officials here on Thursday. 

The modus operandi was simple: the candidate and the impersonator swapped their biometrics, allowing the latter to sit for the exam instead. Allegedly, some UIDAI employees were involved and aided the scam. 

The scam came to light when the police began verifying Aadhaar biometrics of successful candidates at the time of their joining. That is when the police booked all those whose biometrics didn’t match what was on the record. Across the state, 40 FIRs are registered in more than 10 police stations. 

SP, State Cyber Cell, Pranay Nagvanshi, said to the Free Press that on UIDAI’s complaint, FIRs have been filed against 67 people. Of the 17 arrested, five worked with the UIDAI.

He also added that while the investigation is revealing more names, they are being cautious before connecting them all to the scam. 

Over 1,000 yet to join 

Officials said that while around 5,000 candidates had joined the services, 1,400 had not. They suspect those not reporting may have been a part of the scam and did not want to appear before the joining authorities and take the chance of getting caught. 

However, currently, the police are focused on those who have been caught. Later, they may shift the lens on those candidates who didn’t join.