Smart card distribution

Fake NID cards galore

Hundreds of fake National Identity (NID) cards are being detected every day when people are bringing those to be exchanged for the smart NID cards at the distribution centres in Dhaka, Election Commission (EC) officials said yesterday.
Among these fake cards is allegedly one belonging to a leader of a political party. The card appears to have been tampered with. The date of birth is different from the one in the National Identity Registration Division (NIRD) data bank.
EC authorities said they are not giving the smart cards to those who seem to have tampered with their existing laminated NID cards. They asked such people to bring the original cards to collect their smart cards after filing a general diary (GD) with the police.
The authorities said they will not take any action right now against those who have tampered with their NID cards. But if the number of fake cards goes up, they will start handing over the owners of such cards to the police.
Dilip Kumar Roy, joint general secretary of Dhaka Metropolitan Awami League (South) and chairman of the Bangladesh Homeopathy Board, Dhaka, is the owner of such a dubious card. It was detected yesterday when he came to the Segun Bagicha High School camp of the EC, where smart cards were being distributed. When Roy produced his existing NID card, they found an anomaly in his date of birth. On his card, the date of birth was shown as December 31, 1958; but in the data bank, it is October 31, 1958.
The EC official then asked Roy to produce the original card, but he failed. They told him that if he has lost his original card, he has to file a GD as soon as possible.
Mahbubu Mamata Hena, the EC official at the Segun Bagicha centre, told this correspondent that they have been coming across such dubious cards almost every day since they have started distributing the smart cards from the centre on October 13.
“Every day, we come across over 100 such fake NIDs. It is unlawful to duplicate NIDs and carry them. Right now, we are not taking any legal action. Rather, we are telling the owners to bring the original cards to get the smart NIDs,” she added. “Generally, the fake cards appear to be larger in size and heavier than the original ones. The font and photographs are not very clear,” she explained. She said more fake NID cards are being detected in Ward 20 under Ramna thana compared with Ward 19, where they had been distributing smart NID cards before this. “We are carefully checking all cards. No one will be given the smart card if they fail to hand over the original NID cards,” she added.

Director general of the National Identity Registration Division, Brig. Gen. Sultanuzzaman Md Saleh Uddin, told The Independent, “We are cancelling the fake cards at once and not handing over the smart cards without the original ones. The existing paper cards are easy to duplicate. That is why we have introduced the smart cards, which are more secure.” Asked about any possible legal action against such fake card owners, Saleh Uddin said, “Legal action can be taken against such people, but we are not doing it right now. If the number of fake card owners goes up, we will start handing them over to the police.”
On the other hand, people complained that they are facing many problems in collecting their smart NID cards. Some of them, who have not got their smart cards, have been told to give their name and phone number to the election official who would apparently inform them later. But people are not happy with this answer.
One such complainant, Khokon Molla, said he came to the centre on October 14 and had his fingerprint collected and retina scan done, but did not get his card. He has apparently been told that his card is not ready. Another citizen, Anwar Hossain, said, “The EC officials said my card is not ready. They have told me to submit my name and phone number, and that they would call me later.”  Like Khokon and Anwar, many people complained of facing problems. 
Acknowledging the complaints, Saleh Uddin said, “These problems are cropping up because smart cards need 41 types of information such as address and ward number. We are telling the complainants about the lack of information. When we get the information, we will give them their smart cards. This will need some time.” But people are not happy with the explanation. They wondered why the EC did not collect all the information before starting handing out smart cards.
The distribution of smart NID cards started on October 2 when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the project at the Osmany Memorial Auditorium. The distribution physically began in two wards of Dhaka and one upazila in Kurigram district on October 3. NID Division sources said the smart cards would help people get at least 23 types of services, including the opening of bank accounts, obtaining licences, and buying of land, among others.

Smart card distribution

Fake NID cards galore

Hundreds of fake National Identity (NID) cards are being detected every day when people are bringing those to be exchanged for the smart NID cards at the distribution centres in Dhaka, Election Commission (EC) officials said yesterday. Among these fake cards is allegedly one belonging to a leader of a political party. The card appears to have been tampered with. The date of birth is different from the one in the National Identity Registration Division (NIRD) data bank. EC authorities said they are not giving the smart cards to those who seem to have tampered with their existing laminated NID cards. They asked such people to bring the original cards to collect their smart cards after filing a general diary (GD) with the police. The authorities said they will not take any action right now against those who have tampered with their NID cards. But if the number of fake cards goes up, they will start handing over the owners of such cards to the police. Dilip Kumar Roy, joint general secretary of Dhaka Metropolitan Awami League (South) and chairman of the Bangladesh Homeopathy Board, Dhaka, is the owner of such a dubious card. It was detected yesterday when he came to the Segun Bagicha High School camp of the EC, where smart cards were being distributed. When Roy produced his existing NID card, they found an anomaly in his date of birth. On his card, the date of birth was shown as December 31, 1958; but in the data bank, it is October 31, 1958. The EC official then asked Roy to produce the original card, but he failed. They told him that if he has lost his original card, he has to file a GD as soon as possible. Mahbubu Mamata Hena, the EC official at the Segun Bagicha centre, told this correspondent that they have been coming across such dubious cards almost every day since they have started distributing the smartcards from the centre on October 13. Every day, we come across over 100 such fake NIDs. It is unlawful to duplicate NIDs and carry them. Right now,we are not taking any legal action. Rather, we are telling the owners to bring the original cards to get the smart NIDs, she added. Generally, the fake cards appear to be larger in size and heavier than the original ones. The font and photographs are not very clear, she explained. She said more fake NID cards are being detected in Ward 20 under Ramna thana compared with Ward 19, where they had been distributing smart NID cards before this. We are carefully checking all cards. No one will be given the smart card if they fail to hand over the original NID cards, she added. Director general of the National Identity Registration Division, Brig. Gen. Sultanuzzaman Md Saleh Uddin, told The Independent, We are cancelling the fake cards at once and not handing over the smart cards without the original ones. The existing paper cards are easy to duplicate. That is why we have introduced the smart cards, which are more secure. Asked about any possible legal action against such fake card owners, Saleh Uddin said, Legal action can be taken against such people, but we are not doing it right now. If the number of fake card owners goes up, we will start handing them over to the police. On the other hand, people complained that they are facing many problems in collecting their smart NID cards. Some of them, who have not got their smart cards, have been told to give their name and phone number to the election official who would apparently inform them later. But people are not happy with this answer. One such complainant, Khokon Molla, said he came to the centre on October 14 and had his fingerprint collected and retina scan done, but did not get his card. He has apparently been told that his card is not ready. Another citizen, Anwar Hossain, said, The EC officials said my card is not ready. They have told me to submit my name and phone number, and that they would call me later. Like Khokon and Anwar, many people complained of facing problems. Acknowledging the complaints, Saleh Uddin said, These problems are cropping up because smart cards need 41 types of information such as address and ward number. We are telling the complainants about the lack of information. When we get the information, we will give them their smart cards. This will need some time. But people are not happy with the explanation. They wondered why the EC did not collect all the information before starting handing out smart cards. The distribution of smart NID cards started on October 2 when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the project at the Osmany Memorial Auditorium. The distribution physically began in two wards of Dhaka and one upazila in Kurigram district on October 3. NID Division sources said the smart cards would help people get at least 23 types of services, including the opening of bank accounts, obtaining licences, and buying of land, among others.