A recent police investigation has found that a syndicate of brokers and Election Commission (EC) officials have been forging national ID cards for years for people who would use them for fraudulent activities, such as getting bank loans and grabbing or selling other people's land. Apparently, this has been happening due to the absence of proper monitoring by the EC and loopholes in the system. The DB officials have evidence that different people are in the process of collecting around Tk 14 crore as bank loans from different private banks using these fake NID cards which were sold to them for Tk 1.2 lakh to Tk 1.5 lakh. 

Reportedly, the forgery took place in two ways. In the first kind of forgery, the syndicate kept the names and photos of the card-holders the same, while changing the rest of the information that was in the card. And in the second, the photos of the card-holders were changed, while the other information was the same. The syndicate has already faked around Tk 1.5 lakh NIDs in these ways.

While we appreciate the police for busting the syndicate involved in such a dangerous crime, we would urge them to identify each and every person involved with the process—not only the EC officials but also the brokers working with the banks. And all of those who took bank loans or grabbed land using these fake NIDs should also be identified and punished according to our law. Bangladesh Bank should help the police by providing them the Credit Information Bureau (CIB) report so they can identify the people who have forged their documents to get loans.

It is good to know that the EC has already sacked some 42 employees of the NID wing for their involvement in the forgery. But that is not enough. Those involved should be given exemplary punishment, which will also serve as a warning to others. They should also develop a strict monitoring mechanism so that such fraudulent activities can never take place.