Can Aadhaar mistake one twin for another? Twin sisters from UP’s Rampur face bizarre biometric problem after one twin flagged duplicate just before Class 10 board registration, fingerprints and retina match

Khijra Zubair and Tuba Zubair had their Aadhaar cards made when they were around four.

Two Class 10 twin sisters in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, found themselves caught in an unusual Aadhaar problem when the biometric details of one sister were reportedly matched with those of the other. Khijra Zubair and Tuba Zubair, students in Class 10 in Rampur city, had their Aadhaar cards made when they were around four years old. But when they needed to update their Aadhaar details for Class 10 registration, the process did not go as expected. The first sister’s fingerprints and retina were scanned and recorded. When the second sister’s biometric details were entered, the system reportedly matched them with the first sister’s data and treated the second application as a duplicate. For the family, what should have been a routine Aadhaar update turned into a problem that lasted for months.

What happened when the twins updated Aadhaar?

In a conversation with ANI, their uncle said that one sister’s Aadhaar would be updated while the other sister’s application would be rejected. “These are my two nieces,” he said. “When we updated their Aadhaar cards for the registration of the 10th grade, their Aadhaar cards were rejected.” He explained that the family initially could not understand why the two applications were being treated differently. “One Aadhaar card was being updated and the other was being rejected. We were worried for a long time.”The family tried to find a solution through the Aadhaar process but could not resolve the issue. “Even with the Aadhaar cards, we were not able to find a solution. Then we felt that we would have to go to Lucknow.”

Their faces also appeared to confuse a phone’s face lock

The family noticed another unusual similarity while trying to understand what was happening. Their uncle told ANI that they tested the twins using a phone’s face-lock feature. According to him, when the phone was locked using Khijra’s face, Tuba’s face could also open it. “Then one day, we put a face lock on Khijra’s face. The face lock and the retina were opened.” He said the family then tried changing the face used for the lock. “When we changed both of them, the locks were opening from each other.” “This is a rare case,” the uncle said.

Family approached the district magistrate

DM of Rampur with the twins and thier newly issued Aadhaar cards.

After repeated attempts to solve the Aadhaar problem, the family contacted Rampur District Magistrate. “We contacted the DM sir,” the uncle told ANI. He said the family explained the problem to the district magistrate and told him how long they had been trying to find a solution. “After going to Lucknow, we told DM sir about the problem. We were worried for a year and a half. We were not able to find a solution.” According to him, the district magistrate assured the family that they did not need to travel elsewhere to resolve the issue.

Aadhaar officials were contacted

The district administration then began working with the relevant authorities to resolve the problem. “We started the investigation,” the uncle said. “We called the DM on a daily basis.” He said the administration also contacted Aadhaar officials in Lucknow. “We called the Aadhaar card in Lucknow. We talked to everyone in Aadhaar. They assured us that we don’t have to go anywhere.” Once the necessary instructions were received, the family followed the process to update the girls’ Aadhaar records. This process took 3-4 months.

Class 10 board registration was a major concern

The delay was particularly worrying because the girls needed their Aadhaar details for their Class 10 board examination registration. The uncle said the family feared that the unresolved Aadhaar problem could affect the students’ academic year. “Due to this, they were not able to open their accounts,” he said. “The most important thing was the registration for the board exam. We were worried that the children’s Aadhaar card would be wasted for a year,” he told ANI. The family eventually received help from the district administration. The uncle said the district magistrate also ensured that the updated Aadhaar information reached the girls’ school. “He immediately sent the Aadhaar card to their school. He asked them to change the Aadhaar card number in their Aadhaar ID.”

What was the main biometric problem?

When asked what exactly had caused the Aadhaar applications to be rejected, the uncle pointed to the similarity in the twins’ biometric details. “The main problem was that the children’s Aadhaar cards have twins,” he said. He then described the reported match between the sisters’ biometric information. “But the first case was that the children’s Aadhaar cards had the same retina. The fingerprints were almost the same. There was no issue.” According to him, the problem became apparent when the Aadhaar records were scanned. “But when the Aadhaar card was being scanned, the children’s Aadhaar cards were being rejected. Due to the same retina, the children’s Aadhaar cards were not being registered. This is a rare case.” He said the family had never heard of a similar situation before.

DM called it a ‘very rare case’

Rampur district magistrate Ajay Kumar Dwivedi described it as a very unusual case involving the biometric details of identical twins. “This is a very rare case because there are no identical twins like this, whose fingerprint and retina scans were matched,” he told ANI. He added that the district administration worked on the issue with the relevant authorities. “So that’s why this was a very rare case. And with the efforts of our people, with the efforts of the district administration, this happened.”The twins’ Aadhaar issue was eventually resolved after the administration coordinated with the concerned authorities, allowing the two Class 10 students to move ahead with their registration requirements.