Kochi: More than 50,000 refugees from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar are staying in Kerala using fake Aadhaar cards, the Intelligence has reported.
The report said the fake cards were made after infiltrating the Aadhaar centres at Madhupur and Nagaon in Assam, Kalimpong, Nadia, and Uttar Dinajpur in West Bengal, and Perumbavoor in Kerala.
Besides the refugees creating fake Aadhaar cards to stay in the country, Indian citizens facing criminal charges are also forging them to leave the shores.
Following the findings, the Border Security Force (BSF) intensified surveillance in the border states. The Indian Coast Guard, too, beefed up its surveillance along the coastal states, including Kerala.
Central intelligence agencies had a year ago indicated that foreigners were infiltrating Kerala using forged Aadhaar cards.
The central intelligence agency reported that 50 Aadhaar cards were made after infiltrating the online system at an Akshaya Kendra in Malappuram's Triprangode. The system was accessed from internet protocol addresses in West Bengal and Jharkhand.
It was also learnt that fake Aadhaar centres in the 'bhai markets' — places dominated by guest workers — in Perumbavoor issued forged cards using the same photographs but under different names and addresses.
Several Aadhaar cards seized by the Kerala police's anti-terrorist squad the other day were fake. Forging Aadhaar cards, or misusing them, is punishable under the Aadhaar Act, 2016. It would invite a prison term of up to three years and a fine ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
