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HYDERABAD: After detecting a fraud in SR Nagar, the Telangana Stamps and Registration Department has pulled down a link to Mee-Seva centres on property registration documents, having fingerprints and Aadhaar card copies.

The moves follows a communication from Unique Identification Authority of India on Friday. UIDAI sent a communication after SR Nagar police in Hyderabad arrested a rubber stamp maker, who recreated fingerprints and used it to obtain SIM cards . The fraudster downloaded the fingerprint biometrics and Aadhaar numbers from the property registration documents.

Despite the link to Mee-Seva centre being brought down, the threat to all property owners in the state is still there as their registration documents with fingerprints and Aadhaar copies can be obtained physically from Mee-Seva centres and sub-registrar offices.

Telangana Stamps and Registration Department Joint IG Vemula Srinivasulu told TOI,"Based on the UIDAI communication, we shut the link from the registration department to Mee-Seva centre. They said we could reactivate once the issue is resolved. Currently people can't obtain registration documents online from Mee-Seva centres and they have to physically visit the centres.

In undivided AP, certified copy of docu was available for Rs 250

They can approach the officers of sub-registrars and also obtain the documents,” he added.

In undivided Andhra Pradesh, when Mee-Seva services were started in 2012, anyone could obtain a certified copy of registration document by paying Rs 250.

To ensure that they don’t get the wrong certificate, people can preview the certificate with only two pages viewed. Apart from the first page, another page having fingerprints and signatures can be viewed on the Mee-Seva site. It is suspected that the fraudster may have obtained it from the Mee-Seva site.

“In Telangana, we stopped giving access to registration documents on the stamps and registration website long ago.

“Only the owner of the property who receives One Time Password for once after registration can download the copy from the website.

“Apart from this, there is no way registration document can be accessed on the website. But in Andhra Pradesh, it continues to have free access. In one instance, a document writer in Guntur-Vijayawada region downloaded 2.5 lakh documents before he was caught.

“In Andhra Pradesh, a thumbnail of the documents can be viewed, but we have removed the thumbnail view option as well,” said Srinivasulu.

He said, “All sale deeds of immovable properties are book-1 documents, and they are public documents.

“Anyone can pay money at Mee-Seva centre and get a copy of it. But the fingerprints are encrypted, and they cant be deciphered. We have to verify how the fraudster had downloaded the fingerprint and used them. It is an eye-opener.

“And another angle is that Aadhar cards, which are produced as ID cards, during the registration process are displayed. We have to wait for communication from UIDAI on this,” he added.

