‘Illegal migrants’ likely showed fake Aadhaar

Tripura police suspect thattheAadhaarcardsshownby the 18 men caught on Sunday after they allegedly crossed over from Bangladesh illegally could be fake.

Residents of Adampur village in Sepahijala district, bordering Bangladesh,hadcaughtthe18on Sundayandhandedthemoverto the police. The men were initially thought to be Rohingya Muslims buttheyproducedAadhaar cards that showed them as residents of West Bengal’s Murshidabad.

Sepahijala SP Sudipta Das said they were yet to get permission to interrogate the men who were sent to judicial custody till November 6.

The police have lodged an FIR against the 18 on suspicion of producing counterfeit Aadhaar cards, although the Unique Identification Authority of India is yet to verify their identity.

“Verification will take time. Result from UIDAI will help establish whether they are Indians or Bangladeshis,” Das said.

As per regulations, residential proof, photo identity card and age-proof certificates are required to get the Aadhaar. Das said there it was possible that the arrested men forged the Aadhar cards or acquired them by producing fake documents.

During preliminary investigation, the 18 said they wereIndians but later told a local court that they were Bangladeshi nationals.

“The court has asked for the case dossier on November 6. If we get their custody that day, we will interrogate them,” Tripura inspector general (law and order), KV Sreejesh said.

Sources said earlier it was easy to get fake Aadhaar cards through middlemen or agents in the state but tighter regulations have now made it difficult to acquire counterfeit IDs in Tripura.

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