Cops bust fake UID card scam

Five arrested and search is on for three more persons; a printing machine and 1,200 fake ID cards were recovered from the premise of franchise company at at Hosakerehalli
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The High Grounds police busted a fake UID scam and nabbed five persons yesterday. The scam came to light when some UID cardholders approached the head office on Race Course Road to check the authenticity of their cards.



After realising that their cards were fake, the police were informed of the scam. The police raided the premises of Global ID Solutions, which is a franchise of the project, at Hosakerehalli in Banashankari and arrested the accused.

However, a search is on for three others, who managed to escape. During the raid, a printing machine and 1,200 fake ID cards were recovered from the basement of the premises. Ashok Lenin, deputy director, regional office of the Aadhar project, informed that 10 persons from north Karnataka and Bangalore approached their office at Kanija Bhavan and complained about fake UID cards being issued by the company.

"The cards being issued bore the Aadhar logo, which they were not authorised to use since they was not registered with the UID project officially," Lenin said.

Shady business?
He added, "The visiting delegation also complained orally that Global ID Solutions is sub-leasing to companies illegally by charging a non-refundable sum of Rs 2.5 lakh per enrolment kit." The police arrested Pranesh (34), Changa Raju (37), Shivananda Sharma (30), Poornananda (35), and Shankarsaravanan (32), and the three missing have been identified as Vinay Chawla, Anand and Karthik. Pranesh is suspected to be the kingpin in the scam and he has been remanded to three-day police custody, while the other have been sent to judicial custody.

Aadhar
>> Unique identification project was initially conceived by the Planning Commission as an initiative that would provide identification for each resident across the country.
>> It would also act as a tool for effective monitoring of various programmes and schemes of the government.
>> It's a Rs 45,000-crore project and is one of the most ambitious plans by the UPA government, which is headed by former Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani.