The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has filed a police complaint against Ola-owned Qarth Technologies for allegedly misusing Aadhaar data on its website.
The first information report, a copy of which has been reviewed by VCCircle, accuses Qarth co-founder Abhinav Srivastava and the company of developing an app and accessing details on the Aadhaar website without authentication.
A mobile payments firm, Qarth was acqui-hired by cab-hailing major Ola in March last year to expand its Ola Money offerings. As part of the acquisition, the Qarth team, including founders Abhinav Srivastava and Prerit Srivastava, had joined the Ola Money team.
Abhinav, who has been booked under sections of the Information Technology Act, 2008, could not be contacted immediately.
“We have never used Aadhaar for KYC. The app is no longer available. Moreover, I have not been informed about the FIR or any charges against me,†Prerit Srivastava told The Hindu.
In the FIR, however, neither Ola nor its founders have been named.
"Ola has neither commissioned nor is involved in any such activity. No such complaint has been brought to our notice,†an Ola spokesperson said in an email response to VCCircle.
Deputy director at UIDAI Ashok Lenin, who has lodged the complaint, did not reply to text messages from VCCircle. Calls made to him went unreturned.
