Delhi Police to no longer consider Aadhaar, PAN, ration card as proof of Indian citizenship: Report

Delhi Police will be only accepting voter ID and passports as a proof of being an Indian citizen, from those "suspected to be foreign nationals" and allegedly living in Delhi illegally, as per a report by Hindustan Times.

As per the report, PAN card, Ration card as well as Aadhaar card won't be considered as a valid document as a proof of being an Indian national.

The move comes after many illegal nationals from Bangladesh had produced Aadhaar and PAN card for verification during a verification drive last year.

In October 2024, many illegal Bangladeshi's and Rohingya's had shown Aadhaar or Ration cards for verification, following which the Centre made this decision, a senior official told HT.

The deputy commissioners are told to keep and eye on and monitor any "suspicious people".

"Our drive against illegal immigrants will continue till the last of them will be deported to their countries. As UNHCR refugee status without valid travel documents is of no consequence in India, any such foreign national is liable to be deported," the officer said as reported by the publication.

The officer further added that if the situation calls for it, they would cooperate with intelligence agencies to identify and deport migrants living illegally in India.

Another official said that there are 3,500 Pakistani's living in Delhi, of which over 400 have returned to Pakistan.

The official also stated that Foreign Regional Registration Office (FRRO) have the list of the concerned districts and they have begun verifying and data identification.

"The list includes the names of Hindu Pakistan nationals, who have Long Term Visas (LTVs) and are exempted," the officer told HT.

India had issued the 'Leave India' notice to Pakistani nationals after 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by terrorists with Pakistan links in Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22.

The deadline for exiting India for those holding SAARC visas was April 26. For those carrying medical visas, the deadline was April 29. The deadline for 12 other categories of visas was April 27.

The Attari-Wagah border, located near Amritsar in India and Lahore in Pakistan, was shut on Thursday after being kept open till April 30.

As many as 70 Pakistani nationals were reportedly stranded at the border on Thursday, as the deadline for leaving India expired a day earlier.

(With PTI inputs)