Former UIDAI chief RS Sharma suffers Aadhaar fraud, Rs 6000 PM Kisan fund deposited in his account
Sharma received the money in his SBI bank account in three instalments. Sharma reportedly said that he is a registered farmer and that the state government was responsible for not having checked his eligibility for the PM Kisan scheme.
Dated : 14 Dec 2020 (IST)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Former UIDAI chief received Rs 6000 in his SBI bank account under the PM Kisan Yojana when he had not applied for the scheme and is ineligible.
- PM Kisan scheme accounts were created under the names of actor Riteish Deshmukh, Lord Hanuman and ISI spy Mehboob Akhtar, whose Aadhaar numbers were publicly available, according to an online report.
- Back in 2018, Sharma had shared his Aadhaar number publicly, challenging anyone to show how mere knowledge of the number can be misused to harm him.
Former chief of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) received Rs 6000 in his bank account under the PM Kisan Yojana when he did not sign up for the scheme. Sharma received the money in his SBI bank account in three installments. He noted that his registration in the scheme was due to an error by the state government, which is responsible for identifying and adding beneficiaries.
“Yes, it is a fact that I have received three installments of Rs 2000 relating to the PM-KISAN scheme in my account,” Sharma told The Quint. The report noted that Sharma’s PM Kisan’s account was created on January 8 2020 and was active for over nine months till at least September 24 before it was deactivated.
Sharma told the website that he was registered as a farmer in Firozabad district of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and that the SBI branch account in which the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) payment from the PM Kisan scheme took place is a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) account, that was used to receive the sale proceeds of agricultural produce and expenditure.
Sharma reportedly notified the bank about the deposit and is yet to receive a response. However, the account made under Sharma’s name has been made inactive. Sharma said he was ineligible for the PM Kisan scheme as he is a tax-paying citizen.
Further, PM Kisan Yojana accounts were created under the names of actor Riteish Deshmukh, Lord Hanuman, and ISI spy Mehboob Akhtar, whose Aadhaar numbers were publicly available, according to the report. These accounts also received DBT installments of Rs 6000, Rs 4000, and Rs 2000 respectively.
Back in 2018, Sharma had shared his Aadhaar number publicly, challenging anyone to show how mere knowledge of the number can be misused to harm him. However, the money was transferred directly to his bank account. Sharma said the state government was solely responsible for not having checked his eligibility.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had stated in Lok Sabha on September 20 that the responsibility of identification of the beneficiaries lies entirely with the States or UT Governments, as per the provision of the scheme. He had further said that the data of beneficiaries so uploaded by them undergoes a multi-level verification and validation by various concerned agencies, including the banks, and only then the amount is released into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
Under the PM Kisan scheme, which became operational in December 2018, income support of Rs 6000 per year in three equal installments is provided to small and marginal farmer families having combined land holding or ownership of up to two hectares.
