Top criminal David Emon's 'Indian Aadhaar card' found to be a demo

The Indian Aadhaar card that police claimed to have recovered from Chattogram's notorious top criminal Mobarak Hossain, also known as David Emon, has been found to be a demo card rather than a valid Indian identity document.

At a press briefing in Chattogram today (30 July), police said Emon had planned to flee to India through the Jashore border and had obtained the Aadhaar card to conceal his identity after crossing the border.

According to police, the card identified him as Azhar Khan and listed his date of birth as 12 May 1998.

Photo: Collected

However, a verification by The Business Standard found that the 12-digit Aadhaar number printed on the card – 123456789012 – is a widely used demo number that does not belong to any real Indian citizen.

An online search also found multiple sample Aadhaar cards carrying the same number but bearing different names, including Rohak K. Gupta and Sam Altman, indicating that the number is used solely for demonstration and testing purposes.

Responding to The Business Standard's findings, Chattogram Additional Superintendent of Police (Media) Mohammad Russell said the Aadhaar card recovered from David Emon was now part of an ongoing investigation. "We are verifying the authenticity and source of the card. Our preliminary assumption is that he may have prepared such an identity document to flee to India. However, nothing can be confirmed until the investigation is completed," he told The Business Standard.

Based on these findings, The Business Standard has found that the Aadhaar card displayed by police was not a genuine Indian identity document but an edited version of a demo card.

Police also said they had arrested the driver of the private car in which Emon was travelling towards Jashore, alleging that he had assisted his movement.

Investigators further claimed that Emon had shaved off his distinctive moustache before his arrest in an attempt to avoid detection.