Engineer makes fake Aadhaar cards for clinical trials
A youth in Gujarat was apprehended by police for creating 100s of fake Aadhaar cards. Nilesh Mistry, an unemployed software engineer sought to make money by appearing for drug-trials by pharmaceutical companies. To make extra money, he used fake Aadhaar cards so he could appear for multiple trials without the mandatory 3-month gap between them. Barely any companies opted to verify the fake cards.
How were the cards made?
Police recovered printers, scanners, and other computer equipment from Mistry's house. They said Mistry would scan a copy of someone's Aadhaar card. He would then use computer software to change their names, Aadhaar numbers and other details. Then he would print it on a high-quality paper and laminate it so that it looks legitimate.
Why did he make fake cards?
After losing his job, Mistry allegedly volunteered for clinical trials with pharmaceutical companies. However, volunteers have to take a 3-month break between trials. To cheat this trend, Mistry made fake Aadhaar cards under different names and numbers. He even provided others with such fake cards.
What did police say?
Police said they raided Mistry's residence and arrested him and 6 others accused in the racket. Vrushabh Kale, Saurabh Pande, Dilip Jagani, Anand Pandey, Chandrasinh Solanki, and Mahesh Nindhot were the others arrested. Police suspect that the accused were part of a larger nation-wide racket. They said the fake Aadhaar cards were even used to open fake bank accounts.
Guj police inform UP, Maha, MP police
Gujarat police said that the racket was active since December 2016. Since the other accused were from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, they felt the racket could be nation-wide. UP, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh police have begun investigations into this.
