The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (UP ATS) has arrested two men for their alleged involvement in a large-scale fake Aadhaar card racket and secured their seven-day police custody for further interrogation.
According to officials, the accused—identified as Talib Ansari from Saharanpur and Salman Ansari from Ghaziabad—were taken into custody by the ATS Varanasi unit after receiving intelligence about the illegal operation. Investigators believe the duo used forged documents to create Aadhaar cards for foreign nationals, including Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Nepalis and Rohingyas.
The ATS probe has uncovered a widespread network spanning multiple states. Service centres in Azamgarh, Gorakhpur, Saharanpur, Mau, Auraiya, Murshidabad (West Bengal), Kolkata, Delhi-NCR, Lakhisarai and Katihar are suspected of being linked to the syndicate. Officials revealed that the fake Aadhaar cards were used not only for identity verification but also to obtain Indian passports.
This development follows the arrest of 10 other suspects in August as part of the same investigation. Talib and Salman were apprehended in a later phase of the crackdown.
During their custody, the ATS plans to question the accused based on data retrieved from their laptops and mobile phones, while also tracking their bank transactions to identify financial trails and possible international links. Authorities believe the racket may have facilitated illegal migration and fraudulent document procurement across state and national borders.
