(deccanherald)
As many as 150 bogus/fictitious ration cards issued under the biometrics system have been unearthed in Chikkaballapur district, leaving the department of Food and Civil Supplies flummoxed.

The cards were created by none other than the department’s deputy director in collusion with three fair price shop owners and the biometric franchisee.

Even as a debate concerning the security of introducing biometrics into social welfare schemes ensues, the department is now faced with the reality that the system, which it had vouched for, is anything but foolproof.

Addressing reporters in Bangalore on Wednesday, Food and Civil Supplies minister D N Jeevaraj said that the “shocking” revelation came about when department officials stumbled upon a ration card showing a couple as 70 years old with children aged six and eight. Inquiry proved that it was a fictitious card created by the authorities, and many more cards had been introduced into the system.

He said that the department has booked a cheating case against the deputy director, owners of the fair price shops and the biometric franchisee. “We never imagined that the biometric system could be manipulated,” said Jeevaraj...
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