While Aadhaar card has become the one document for identification across India, its misuse of has also mushroomed widely. On one hand Aadhaar card has helped several lost children reunite with their parents, on the other, its key details have been manipulated for human trafficking.
Recently, the Railway Police Department found 244 children, who were trafficked to Bengaluru, had fake Aadhaar cards. This number was from Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station, Bengaluru alone.
Traffickers change the date of birth and age of children on Aadhaar cards and traffic children to work as child laborers.
“The altered Aadhaar cards have children’s age mentioned as 18 or above but we don’t have a way to cross-check it. When in doubt, the children are spoken to individually and they reveal a different age,” said a senior official from Railway Police Department.
Most victims of child trafficking arriving in Bengaluru come majorly from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkand, Rajasthan and Odisha. The UIDAI doesn’t share data which makes it difficult to cross-check the truth of the Aadhaar cards, said another official.
“The traffickers lure children promising them jobs and good wages. Only when Railway Protection Force steps in and rescues them, human trafficking is known. Poverty and lack of education make these children more vulnerable. A simple promise of three meals and less than 100 rupees per day will lighten up their faces. Despite hundreds being saved every year, the number of victims is always on the rise” said Jyothi Desai, volunteering with NGOs helping such victims find their way back home along with state agencies.
“All said and done, Aadhaar card needs to be a foolproof system making it impossible for the culprits to attempt duplication. Only then such incidents can be curbed,” Desai added.
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