Delhi Police arrests 2 for stealing Aadhaar data through fake health camps

The police recovered several SIM cards and three phones from the accused. | Photo Credit: ANI Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit arrested two men from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh for organising fake health camps to collect villagers’ Aadhaar and biometric details for illegal SIM activation and supplying e-SIMs for suspected use in cybercrime.The accused are suspected to have activated more than 3,000 SIMs over the past year, with the numbers linked to more than 20 complaints of cybercrime involving an alleged fraud of around ₹2.64 crore, the police said on Thursday.The accused, identified as Jitendra Singh, 29, and Brajesh Kumar, 21, were arrested during a raid in the intervening night of October 20 and 21 in Mathura and brought to Delhi, said an officer.Offer of cheap medicinesThe officer added that the accused offered medicines at subsidised rates at the fake health camps to induce people to share their Aadhaar and other biometric details. These details were misused to obtain SIM cards, which were either converted into e-SIMs or sold via online platforms.The investigation stems from a digital arrest case in which the complainant, Shriniwas, was contacted through WhatsApp and threatened with legal action. He was subjected to a digital arrest for around two weeks and allegedly coerced into transferring ₹1.64 crore through six RTGS transactions to six different bank accounts, the police said.An FIR was registered on September 1 under Sections 318(4) and 340 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deal with cheating and forgery, at the IFSO police station.During the investigation, analysis of mobile numbers and data led the police to the Vrindavan-Mathura region, where they uncovered a network involved in procuring, activating and supplying e-SIMs for cybercrime.The accused converted physical SIM cards into e-SIMs and supplied those through QR codes via Facebook, Instagram and Telegram channels, the police said.Sold SIMs for ₹2,000During interrogation, Mr. Singh and Mr. Kumar disclosed that they had been involved in procuring and supplying physical SIM cards and e-SIMs for around a year and traded nearly 20 to 30 e-SIMs a day. They allegedly bought each activated e-SIM for ₹800 to ₹1,200 and sold it for around ₹2,000, and changed their phones frequently to evade detection.Payments were facilitated through USDT, a cryptocurrency. The police have also found communications between the accused and members of an online group, including foreign contacts, whose identities and possible links to the wider network are being examined, the officer said.Three mobile phones were recovered during the probe. Further investigation is under way to trace financial transactions, examine digital evidence and establish the extent of the network’s involvement in other cyber fraud cases. Published - October 29, 2026 06:15 pm IST