Navsari: The district administration has suspended 13 employees, including two supervisors and 11 operators, following a scam in which an NRI woman from London allegedly obtained an Aadhaar card illegally.

The suspended personnel were working in various departments, including the District Panchayat, Collector’s Office, and District Panchayat Division.

The case came to light after a vigilant citizen from Kolasana village raised concerns that the woman, who had spent only 25 days in India, had secured an Aadhaar card despite government guidelines requiring NRIs to stay in the country for at least 182 days.

Following this, the Jalalpore Mamlatdar filed a complaint at Navsari Town Police Station, revealing the misuse of the Mamlatdar office’s Service Plus Portal login credentials. Investigations found that the Aadhaar card application was approved within seconds, with discrepancies in uploaded documents such as the PAN card and signatures, and false claims of Indian residency.

Officials confirmed that the fraudulent card was processed using official portal credentials, highlighting serious procedural lapses. Discrepancies were noticed in the submitted documents, including PAN cards and signed forms, which did not match official records.

A case has been registered against the NRI woman and an operator under the IT Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Police investigations are ongoing, with authorities indicating that more names may emerge as the probe continues. Computers, mobile phones, and other devices linked to the scam have already been seized.

The police are also investigating whether similar fraudulent Aadhaar cards were created for other NRIs and whether such fake documents were used in land transactions. DeshGujarat