NRI Woman, 13 Officials Booked in Navsari Aadhaar Fraud Using Govt Portal Login

Navsari | Gujarat — An NRI woman from London, who is hailing from Kolasana village in Navsari district, illegally obtained an Aadhar card by presenting false evidence and withholding her NRI status. Jalalpore Mamlatdar and Executive Magistrate Mrunaldan Israni has filed a complaint at Navsari Town Police Station against the NRI woman and about 13 employees associated with the Aadhar card process have been suspended. 

It is said that the user ID and password of the ‘Service Plus Portal’ of the Mamlatdar office were misused in this process. Currently, the police have registered a case against the NRI woman and the operator and are conducting further investigation.

Collector suspends 13 employees

Following this incident, three days ago, the District Additional Collector suspended a total of 13 employees with immediate effect on suspicion of irregularities in the Aadhaar card process. This includes 2 supervisors and 11 operators. Currently, an investigation is underway to find out which of these 13 employees used the government portal to make the Aadhaar card of the NRI woman.

How the whole matter came to light

On 18 August 2025, an alert citizen of Kolasana village filed an application with the Mamlatdar office. The application stated that Patel Pratikshaben Sanjaybhai, who lives abroad in the village, had not stayed in India for 182 days in the last one year as per the government guidelines for obtaining an Aadhaar card, but her Aadhaar card has been issued.

NRI woman stayed in India for only 25 days

The matter was investigated by the Circle Officer of the Mamlatdar office, Chandreshsinh Rathod. During the investigation, statements were taken from the then Talati-cum-Minister of Kolasana, Sarpanch and the applicant’s relative Mayankbhai Mistry. The investigation revealed that Pratikshaben had stayed in India for only 25 days and then went abroad. According to the government resolution dated March 3, 2023, a stay of 182 days in India in the last one year is mandatory for an Aadhaar card. Since this condition was not fulfilled, Pratikshaben’s Aadhaar card was not eligible for registration. The Talati-cum-Minister also said in the report that since the applicant is currently abroad, verification cannot be done and ‘Annexure-1 Negative’ was filled.

Government portal used in the entire incident

The Aadhaar card application process is done on the ‘Service Plus Portal’ set by the government, whose user ID and password have been allotted to the Mamlatdar’s office. Pratikshaben’s Aadhaar card was approved by misusing this user ID and password. In this case, a crime has been registered against two accused, including an NRI woman, under the IT Act and BNS.

Pratikshaben had applied by ticking the Aadhaar registration form that she was a resident Indian. There were also discrepancies in the uploaded PAN card and the signatures on the application form. Instead of uploading the duly signed ‘Annexure-01’ verified by Talati, some other form with incomplete details and cut off in the margins was uploaded.

The operator gave approval within seconds

On checking the portal, it was found that an unknown person (accused no. 2) had illegally logged in to the Mamlatdar office login ID. This person prepared a verification report on June 30, 2025 and just a second later, approved the application. During the application, Pratikshaben had her retina and finger scanned and a photograph taken, in which she stated that she was a resident Indian despite being a non-resident.

The names of other people may yet be revealed

A police complaint has been filed for a thorough investigation on the orders of the Collector, Navsari for this serious act. Both these accused and all those who come forward during the investigation have been booked under Sections-336(2), 336(3), 337, 338, 340(2), of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)-2023. A case has been registered and an investigation has been initiated under Sections 43, 63, 66(C) of the Information Technology Act-2000 and 45 of the Indian Penal Code.