Aadhaar misuse allegations involving loans taken in the names of more than 7,500 college students have been submitted to the Salem city police commissioner, with the complaint claiming potential losses of up to Rs 75 crore across Salem, Namakkal and Dharmapuri districts.
Thirty students from the three districts submitted the petition at the commissioner’s office on November 8, according to Dinamalar. The students alleged that members of an organisation identified as Best Empowerment Trust collected their Aadhaar cards after promising them a commission for transferring money received in their bank accounts.
According to the complaint, the organisation told the students that Rs 1 lakh would be deposited into their accounts and that they would receive Rs 1,000 for transferring the money to accounts specified by the organisation. The students said they followed those instructions and received the promised commissions.
The issue came to light after some students received notices from a private bank demanding repayment of instalments for loans allegedly taken to purchase cattle. The students said they were unaware of such loans. When they contacted the bank, they were allegedly told that the loans had been obtained through Best Empowerment Trust and that approximately 7,500 people in Salem, Namakkal and Dharmapuri had received similar loan assistance.
The students further alleged that the organisation gave contradictory responses when questioned about the notices. Their complaint seeks action against those allegedly involved in the transactions. The claims about the total number of affected people and the possible loan amount have not been independently established in the supplied report.
One of the complainants, Musharaf Basha, alleged that college students had been targeted through the collection of Aadhaar details and that loans described as agricultural loans had been obtained in their names. He also alleged that a government lawyer was supporting the organisation and that the trust’s administrator had referred to a payment to the lawyer. These allegations have not been independently verified.
The students said police personnel who received the complaint issued a CSR, or community service register entry, and began an inquiry. A CSR records receipt of a complaint and does not by itself establish that a criminal offence has been proved. The next stage will depend on the police examination of the students’ identity documents, bank records, loan applications, transaction trails and the role of the organisation named in the complaint.
The case places Aadhaar-linked financial access and consent at the centre of a wider citizen-protection concern. Students who allow their identity or bank details to be used for apparently routine transactions may face loan demands or other liabilities without understanding how their documents are being used. The Salem city police inquiry is expected to establish whether loans were actually sanctioned in the students’ names, how the applications were processed and who controlled the related bank accounts.
