Fake thumbs doing brisk business in eastern UP

VARANASI: For Suresh Chaudhary (name changed), who had for the longest time arrived at work well past noon for his 9-to-5 job at Chandauli Vikas Bhawan, life turned miserable when biometric attendance was introduced some months ago. Since then, he has struggled to arrive on time. And often failed to. Finally, it was a Rs 300-solution that ended his woes. It came in the form of a prosthetic thumb with his ‘impression’, made by his neighbourhood stamp-maker.

Police and administration in Chandauli Eastern UP districts have come across stamp-makers who run a thriving business of fake 'thumbs'. Their clients include truant employees of all kinds, hackers of screen-fingerprint passwords and those preparing fake documents to procure cell-phone SIMs etc.

These prosthetic thumbs made of silicone rubber are available for just Rs 60-100 in markets with stiff competition like Varanasi. In places such as Ghazipur, Azamgarh and Chandauli, they cost between Rs 300 and Rs 500. Though the open sale of such tools for fraud is common knowledge, police are yet to move against the traders, sellers and buyers. Chandauli SP Santosh Kumar Singh conceded he knew about the brisk business of prosthetic thumbs. "A team is investigating the matter," he said.

But it may not be easy to crack down and contain the sale of fake thumbs, given the sheer scale of the business. “At least one customer places an order daily,” says a stamp maker in Varanasi. His customers are mostly government workers and private jobbers where biometric attendance is the norm. Fudging attendance is more prevalent in the smaller towns around Varanasi than in the city.

Others have as clients opening computers with fingerprint passwords of others. The competition in Varanasi is high, so prices of prosthetic thumbs are also lower --- from Rs 60 to Rs 100.

A 'thumb making’ unit costs about Rs 1 lakh, those in the business reveal and just a computer or laptop, a scanner and a cast machine are needed to start printing thumbs.