Govt official acknowledges leak of Aadhaar information
A government official has acknowledged that personal identity of individuals, including Aadhaar number and other sensitive information, has been leaked to the public domain. "Publishing information like Aadhaar number along with name, date of birth, address etc. is a clear contravention of provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 and is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years," he added. 
A official in the Narendra Modi government has acknowledged that Aadhar information has been published on the Web, the New Indian Express (NIE) reported today.This revelation comes just weeks after the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) - the organization that handles the Aadhar project - refuted reports claiming that that Aadhaar data had been breached, and that biometrics were misused for creation of parallel databases.Earlier this month, the agency asserted that there was "no incident of misuse of Aadhaar biometrics leading to identity theft and financial loss."But a letter written by an employee of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on March 25, and obtained by NIE, appears to contradict that statement. "There have been instances wherein personal identity or information of residents, including Aadhaar number and demographic information and other sensitive personal data such as bank account details etc. collected by various Ministries/Departments... has been reportedly published online and is accessible through an easy online search," wrote Archana Dureja, a scientist in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, in a letter the NIE obtained.Dureja acknowledged in her letter that such a leak was in violation of Aadhar Act, 2016 provisions and told states and government departments to put an end to such transgressions, the report said. MS DHONI'S AADHAR REGISTRATION DETAILS LEAKEDThis revelation comes just days after CSC e-governance services on Tuesday tweeted a photo in which Dhoni was seen authenticating fingerprints to avail Aadhaar services.However, along with the photo of Dhoni, CSC's official Twitter account also tweeted his Aadhaar registration details in a screenshot, which then prompted his wife Sakshi to post a series of furious tweets.Sakshi tagged Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in her tweets, forcing him to take prompt action.The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) - the organization that handles the Aadhar project - has blacklisted the agency that leaked the Aadhaar receipt Dhoni for 10 years. UIDAI's CEO said an inquiry has also been ordered.ALSO READ | Aadhaar will soon be aadhaar of your existence: Why you cannot afford to live without the 12-digit number