ISLAMABAD: A recent verification drive in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, has drawn public attention in India after an SHO (Station House Officer) reportedly told residents he could determine their nationality using a mobile phone, said an Indian media report Friday.
The incident occurred on December 23, 2025, at Bhowapur slum, a settlement of roughly 50 shanties, in Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, where SHO Ajay Sharma and his team conducted document checks.
According to the Indian media report, Sharma asked a slum dweller to show his identity card.
When the man identified himself as a resident of Araria district in Bihar, the SHO reportedly asked if he was from Bihar or Bangladesh.
Sharma then told the man that he had a machine, a mobile phone, that could “immediately” detect if someone was an “illegal.”
The phone was placed on the man’s back, and Sharma remarked that it showed “Bangladesh.”
The resident insisted he was from Bihar and that no Bangladeshi was present in the slum.
A video clip of the incident that surfaced on social media has prompted widespread discussion.
Sharma defended his actions, telling an Indian media outlet that he “tried to put pressure on them so that they reveal their true identity” and that no one was harassed.
A senior police officer clarified that the verification was part of a routine foot march during the Christmas and New Year period, but added that no orders for such methods had come from senior officials.
Journalist Mohammed Zubair highlighted the incident on X (formerly Twitter) on Jan. 1, questioning whether the police had a new device to detect citizenship.
In response, the Ghaziabad Police Commissioner stated that these verification exercises are part of ongoing efforts to maintain law and order, and document checks are conducted to ensure accuracy.
According to the media report, Commissioner J. Ravindra Goud said the video was under review and added, “If any person is harassed by police, we will take action.”
The episode has sparked debate over police methods, citizen dignity, and the appropriateness of using technology in identity verification, particularly in vulnerable slum communities.
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