More than 150,000 people in the country have two National Identity Cards (NIDs). Although committing multiple NIDs is a punishable offence, but they did it. To escape, many have given toe fingerprints instead of hands.
Election Commission (EC) officials said that one person can get more than one NID with the connivance of some dishonest EC officials.
EC Secretary Shafiul Azim also accepted the truth of the matter and said that there are allegations of being a voter even with the fingerprints of the left hand and the right hand.
According to EC sources, currently there are 530,258 dual voters in EC’s database. That is, they have taken two NIDs each. Whereas under the National Identity Registration Act, a citizen will get an NID. There are also penalties for breaking the law. Still, more than 150,000 people have taken multiple NIDs. Among whom Dr. Sabrina Sharmin alias Sabrina Arif Chowdhury, former Army Chief General (retd) Aziz Ahmed’s two brothers Harish Ahmed and Tofail Ahmed alias Josephhave NID fraud charges. EC filed a case against Sabrina. Such cases have been filed against many others. EC has canceled (locked) four NIDs in the name of Harish and Joseph. Similar action has been taken against many other NIDs.
According to the National Identity Registration Act, anyone who knowingly obtains more than one NID will be punished with imprisonment for one year or a fine not exceeding Tk 20,000 or both. In other words, 5 lakh 30 thousand 258 double voters in the database of EC are criminals according to the law. Because they have multiple NIDs. The Act further states that any person who forges NID or carries such NID shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding 7 years and fine not exceeding Tk 1 lakh. A person aiding and abetting in the forgery of NID shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years and with a fine not exceeding Tk 1 lakh.
According to EC sources, the thumb and index finger prints of both hands were initially taken from the voters. Later, the EC started taking 10 fingerprints of both hands and irises of the eyes. These impressions and images are taken during the registration of new voters at Thana and Upazila Election Offices throughout the year except during the time of updating the voter list. When someone becomes a new voter, their fingerprints and Irish image are matched with the fingerprints and Irish images of around 130 million citizens in the EC’s database.
If there is no match, the interested person is voted. After completing registration as a voter, he gets an NID. Before 2019, if a person applied to be a voter, he has initially to given a NID number. Later his information was verified.
An EC source said most of the cases of taking multiple NIDs were before 2019. Due to which one is not caught forgery of taking NID again. However, EC’s various investigation reports have found manipulation of one person’s fingerprints to another, right hand fingerprints instead of left and right hand fingerprints instead of left hands, and even fingerprints instead of hands. These are done to avoid matching. And some officials-employees of the concerned election office helped in this. However, the EC wants to put the responsibility on the data entry operators and not on their officials.
According to sources, the EC has instructions not to upload the fingerprint of a voter to the server if it is not 60 percent or more. However, many have uploaded incomplete impressions in haste or unethical opportunism. As a result, one person is left with the opportunity to take more than one NID. Apart from this, there are also allegations of exchanging one’s information with another.
In this year too, a case of one person giving multiple NID numbers has been caught. The resident of Mirpur in the capital Dhaka has taken the issue himself. He claimed that he had mistakenly applied to become a new voter last January instead of applying for NID amendment. Realizing his mistake in March, he went to the police station election office and found out that another NID number had been given in his name. On the same day, he apologized for the mistake and applied to uphold the earlier one and quash the second NID. His two NIDs remained in place till noon on October 8. But after March, if he applied with education certificate, his NID was revised.
EC Secretary Shafiul Azim told that to close multiple NIDs and in this case to prevent fraud and corruption of officials and employees, initiative is being taken to bring the location of taking fingerprints and iris images under CCTV cameras. Due to deficiencies in this system, efforts are being made to gradually improve them.
Regarding what to do if there is more than one NID, the EC officials said, if there is more than one NID, the concerned person has to apply to the local police station or upazila election office on his own initiative. In view of that application, the commission is canceling the second NID while maintaining the first NID of the concerned citizen based on the recommendation of the field level officials.
While want to know, the local government expert Tofail Ahmed told that one person cannot have two NID cards. This must be resolved by the Election Commission. It’s not just scrutinizing; For those who have more than one NID, it has to be corrected by hearing or by sending a message to them. There is no other way.
