Now, fake NID cards
the whole NID
campaign has been blighted by layers
of incompetence,
which has resulted
in countless
unregistered cards going to the masses
After the revelatory report on how multiple MRPs were issued to people by venal passport officials working on the sly, we now find that fake National Identity Cards, or NIDs, issued during the elections in 2009, are now in the hands of many. The information came to light when people holding NIDs came to submit their cards at the Election Commission to get the new Smart Cards.
While this is certainly a matter of concern, we cannot but feel that many of those who came to have the new version were unaware that their old NIDs were in fact false or, not registered. In view of this, its safe to speculate that quite some time ago, a shady operation had begun, involving the handing out of NIDs. Of course, this would not have come out in the open if the Smart Cards hadnt come into being.
Also, the latest findings suggest that many cards have anomalous information of the person carrying them. Reportedly, in several instances, the basic details of the person holding NIDs did not match the facts recorded in the official data bank. The truth is that the whole NID campaign has been blighted by layers of incompetence, which has resulted in countless unregistered cards going to the masses.
The risk here, given the stringent position of the government on possible spread of toxic ideology, is that any person or persons with the aim of creating social disorder can completely conceal their real identity and lead lives as different people.
In such cases, nabbing a criminal becomes impossible. EC also underlines another disquieting trend tampering with the inner part of the cards, i.e. information, photos, etc. This sort of unwarranted intrusions by the card carrier, we feel, takes place due to the proliferation of unscrupulous computer service providers, which have in the recent past been implicated for being involved in producing false academic certificates.
We are told, the police have not been called in as yet since its evident that many of the NID holders know if their cards are dubious or not. As the new Smart Cards are being issued, we would urge the relevant authorities to be vigilant about the authenticity of the operation, so that minimum manipulation is possible.
A cautious approach is needed because Bangladesh has been used by extremists in the recent past to create terror that have had international implications. Once again, the optimum way to counter this is to be transparent, though its common sense, when a vicious cycle of wicked practices envelopes us, ensuring integrity on one side is a quixotic expectation.
