Police find documents showing them to be ‘Indians’

Among the more surprising finds in the rented house of three Pakistani nationals and a man from Kerala was a plethora of documents showing them to be ‘Indians’. Apart from Aadhaar cards, police found evidence pointing to the trio trying to obtain documents that would, in effect, accord them Indian citizenship.

“They had documents that allowed them benefits as Indian citizens. We are investigating how this was possible,” said Police Commissioner Praveen Sood.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the three Pakistani nationals and Kerala native Mohammad Shihab had a rental agreement for their house in Kumaraswamy Layout. The Karachi-born Samira Abdul Rehman was named Najma in these documents, while Kirhon had become Kiran. These fake documents were used to get Aadhaar cards.

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“It is too early to say whether the Aadhaar card itself was forged,” said a senior police officer.

An officer with the Central Crime Branch, which is investigating the case, said, “At present, we are probing the facts of their migration. We are yet to question the owner of the apartment.”

The case throws up questions about the biometric Aadhaar card system, which was touted as a solution to the increasing number of fake or forged identity cards.

An official of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said this could be an isolated case. “An operator will not have the knowledge or skills to determine if the identity proof submitted is forged or obtained through illegal means. As and when such cases are brought to our notice, we will delete these numbers from our database,” he said.