Illegal immigrants can 'buy' Aadhaar for 500: Sting op

New Delhi: The UPA government’s much-hyped Aadhaar card is available at a price even to illegal migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to a sting operation by investigative website Cobrapost. 

    For charges ranging between Rs 500 and Rs 2,500, those dealing with the project “agreed to make Aadhaar cards for applicants without any proof of identification or address,” the website said in a statement. “These are the same people who have been entrusted to securely collect and send the biometric and demographic data of an individual to UIDAI’s data collection centre in Bangalore, Karnataka.” 
    The sting came on a day when the Supreme Court restrained the government from sharing Aadhaar card details with other agencies. 
    The website claimed that almost anyone, “be it Indian or an illegal immigrant can get an Aadhaar card made without any proof of identity. More importantly, they get an Indian identity.” 
    Supposed to be a unique identification number providing identification and access to a host of government benefits and services to Indian residents, Aadhaar has almost unvaryingly been extended to immigrants who have illegally crossed over the Indian border, the website said. 
    A reporter, posing as a conduit for refugees from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, approached a dozen Aadhaar offices across India. He told officials that these immigrants have no proof of identity or proof of address but need help in getting an Aadhaar card. 
Aadhaar card can’t be mandatory: SC T he SC has directed the Centre to withdraw any order issued by it making the Aadhaar card mandatory to avail of government services. Staying an order of the Bombay HC’s Goa bench on sharing of data collected for the card with the CBI in a rape case, the SC said biometric or any other data should not be shared without the written consent of an accused.