Rajasthan Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel has assured the state Assembly that strict action would be taken against Aadhaar centres and e-Mitra operators involved in making fraudulent Aadhaar cards. He said an intensive campaign will be launched across the state and added that a fake Aadhaar card case from Sanchore town has already been recommended to the CBI for investigation.

“For this, all e-Mitra and Aadhaar centres operating in the state will be inspected, and the annual reports of Aadhaar machines will be reviewed and tested,” Patel replied to a matter raised during a Call Attention Motion by Raniwada MLA Ratan Dewasi on Saturday.

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Patel said that the notification and necessary information have been sent to the Central government along with a request letter for transferring the investigation in this case to the CBI. He informed that the accused named in this case — Togaram, Ganpat Singh, and Kanhaiya Lal — were absconding, and efforts were underway to locate and arrest them.

He said it would be made mandatory for e-Mitra operators to display information about the amount for free and paid services outside the centre to prevent excessive charges being imposed on the general public.

He further said that the creation of fake Aadhaar cards by authorised Aadhaar centres operating in border districts of Pakistan was a very serious matter related to national security.

“The state government is continuously taking effective action to curb such cases. On June 21, 2024, when news of fake Aadhaar cards being made using counterfeit documents and biometrics was published, the Department of Information Technology and Communication took immediate action and initiated an investigation with the Unique Identification Authority of India, New Delhi,” he told the House.

Patel informed that two cases had been registered against e-mitra operators involved in making fake Aadhaar cards in the Sanchore district.