SBI Aadhar Biometrics Theft Case: Police Arrests Victim's Close Friend

JALANDHAR, Punjab—The Counter Intelligence Wing (CIA)  of Jind Police  arrested  a person late night on Saturday in connection with the Aadhaar biometrics misuse case reported by an Aadhaar vendor at the  State bank Of India branch at village Uchana in district Jind in Haryana.

The accused has been identified as Shamsher Singh, a resident of village Sudkhain Kurd in Jind  who is working as bank Mitra (BC) in SBI branch at Lodhar. Singh is reported to be a close associate  of Vikram Sheokand, who has alleged theft and misuse of his biometrics by anonymous people.

While confirming this to HuffPost India, Uchana SHO  Sub Inspector Baldev Singh said that Singh was arrested after crucial evidence was found against him in this case, though he refused to share further details.

However, calling it a cover up by the enforcement agencies, Sheokand alleged that his friend was framed wrongly by UIDAI to put pressure on him to take back his complaint.

“Police officials  told  me that Rs 1,000 stolen from my PNB account was transferred to Shamsher’s bank account. This is not possible as he was my childhood friend and is supporting me financially since childhood,” Sheokand said, while speaking to HuffPost India over the phone from Jind.

He said that the police has also identified the other person who has transferred Rs 7,500 from Sheokand’s account, who is apparently based in the Madhubani district of Bihar.

Sheokand, who worked as an Aadhaar operator with SBI bank, was recently blacklisted by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) after he was accused of misusing his Aadhaar security credentials to create multiple enrollment devices, and use them to register people for Aadhaar without proper documents. The UIDAI also levied a hefty fine of over Rs 33 lakhs on Sheokand.

Sheokand however alleged that his biometrics were stolen, and then misused by unknown persons at various locations. He also lodged a complaint with Uchana police, and has appealed to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for intervention in the matter.