Mangaluru (Karnataka) Mar 4 (PTI) Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker U T Khader on Wednesday sought an inquiry after a large number of Aadhaar cards were found on the banks of the Nethravathi River here.

The cards were found at Farangipete in Pudu village of his Mangaluru Assembly constituency.

Khader, in a note to the Project Manager of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Bengaluru, sought immediate intervention and necessary action against those responsible.

In the note dated March 4, he said that local residents noticed the Aadhaar cards along the riverbank on March 3.

Following information received from the public, the Pudu Gram Panchayat president and villagers collected the Aadhaar cards found scattered in the area. They subsequently brought the matter to his attention and the concerned authorities, he said.

Expressing concern over the incident, the Speaker has directed that a thorough investigation be conducted to ascertain how such a large number of Aadhaar cards ended up on the riverbank and to identify those responsible.

He instructed officials to initiate appropriate legal action through the concerned department at the earliest. PTI COR KSU KH

Data protection breach: probe sought after mass discovery of identity cards, with UIDAI inquiry and legal action requested. A data protection and public safety concern arose when a large number of Aadhaar identity cards were found on the Nethravathi riverbank, prompting the Karnataka Assembly Speaker to ask UIDAI Bengaluru for immediate intervention, a thorough investigation to determine how the cards were disposed and identify those responsible, and initiation of appropriate legal action through the concerned department.