Times ExclusiveJaisalmer: Rajasthan govt probe teams have recommended fixing responsibility, filing FIRs and strengthening security of National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) attendance application at govt of India level after finding “serious vulnerabilities” and suspected manipulation of worker attendance under VB-G RAM G scheme in Sam Panchayat Samiti, Jaisalmer.Five teams carried out physical verification of villages and worksites Sunday and submitted a joint report flagging suspected “software cloning and other methods” to mark attendance, including cases where workers shown present were not found at worksites and instances where physical work was “zero” despite attendance being recorded and payments made.The investigation follows an issue raised in an Aug 21 video conference with union ministry of rural development, where officials said around 2.56 lakh cases of duplicate photographs were detected in face-authentication attendance records across Rajasthan. Of these, about 2.05 lakh were from Jaisalmer, the highest among districts.After discrepancies surfaced, a special team inspected villages and worksites in Sam.The report questioned the effectiveness of 50-metre geofencing, saying attendance could have been marked from distant locations. It said that despite face verification and eye-blink features, photographs could be uploaded from the mobile gallery.During the investigation, some people told officials that WhatsApp links were being circulated to download a cloned application, and payments were being taken to help manipulate attendance. The report said entering a user ID and password in such a cloned app could allow fake attendance to be recorded in the original application without a mobile OTP. Teams, however, did not find any fake mobile application on phones of mates examined, and officials were told the alleged activity was being facilitated through e-Mitra centres.On duplicate images, the report said that of around 2.05 lakh duplicate photographs identified in Jaisalmer, 1,52,311 have been rejected so far. It said none of the duplicate photographs examined by teams were eligible for acceptance, while 79,416 photographs were still shown under “Action Not Taken.”The report also flagged the possibility that access to the user ID and password of a single mate could allow attendance entry for workers from any gram panchayat or muster roll within the block using a duplicate application and mobile gallery photographs.It recommended a detailed technical examination, tracing IP addresses, a technical audit to identify entries and possible tampering, and immediate FIRs at block level so police can establish how the alleged manipulation was carried out.
