The Indian Railways has issued an alert on illegal immigrants using fake or forged Aadhaar cards as proof of identity while travelling and directed Travelling Ticket Examiners to check at random the veracity of the document.
In a note to Principal Chief Commercial Managers of all Zonal Railways issued on Thursday, the Railway Board said instances of individuals staying unauthorisedly in India with fake or forged Aadhaar cards and using them as proof of identity for various purposes, including employment and travel, had come to notice.
To curb impersonation and misuse of Aadhaar card, it was imperative to strengthen identity verification mechanism. Ticket checking staff should check and verify the identity document of passengers at random.
Wherever it was found to be a fake or forged document or in case of any suspicion, the matter should be immediately referred to the Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force for necessary action.
Download mAadhaar app
The Railway Board said the ticket checking staff should download and use the mAadhaar App (available for free on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store) on their mobile phones.
The mAadhaar application, developed by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), was useful in easy verification of the document. The application provided several features, including QR code-based verification, which enabled reliable and paperless identity validation.
Upon scanning the QR code on an Aadhaar card, the application would display key identity information such as photograph, Aadhaar number, name, gender, date of birth and address, thereby facilitating real-time verification of the authenticity of the document.
“This application works in offline mode also. This application might serve as a useful tool to curb impersonation and misuse of Aadhaar card,” the Railway Board said.
Besides passengers, the note said the mobile-based verification app should also be used to verify the genuineness of contractual onboard staff, including On Board House Keeping, Catering staff etc.
The move comes a day after the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) deactivated 2.5 crore suspect user IDs as part of a digital overhaul of its ticketing infrastructure.
Published – June 06, 2025 12:15 am IST
