The case came to light after a Kolasana village resident complained on August 18, 2025, that Patel Pratikshaben Sanjaybhai had obtained Aadhaar despite being abroad for most of the year. A subsequent inquiry led by Circle Officer Chandresh Singh Rathod found that she had spent only 25 days in India before returning overseas, far below the eligibility threshold.
Investigators determined that the Aadhaar was approved through the government’s Service Plus Portal using login credentials issued exclusively to the Mamlatdar office. The portal access was allegedly misused to validate her application within one second of generating the verification report on June 30, 2025. Her fingerprint, iris scan, and photograph were captured during enrolment, even though she falsely declared herself a resident.
Procedural discrepancies were also detected, including mismatched signatures on documents, incomplete or incorrect signatures uploaded in place of the mandatory Annexure-01, and a non-standard form with cut margins. Officials said these red flags should have prevented the application from proceeding.
Following the findings, the District Additional Collector suspended 13 employees two supervisors and 11 operators—pending an internal audit of Aadhaar operations. The inquiry aims to identify which staff member used the official login to facilitate the issuance.
The FIR names Pratikshaben and an unidentified operator, who have been booked under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 336(2), 336(3), 337, 338 and 340(2), alongside IT Act Sections 43, 63, and 66(C). Further charges under IPC Section 45 have also been invoked.
Navsari Collectorate officials said more individuals could be implicated as technical and administrative investigations expand to trace the misuse of government credentials and systemic lapses in verification.
