Adhaar is in demand. And not only from government that wants you to link it to almost every public and private service. Pimps in Goa are now reportedly verifying their "customers" by demanding Aadhaar cards from them before they connect the men to the girls. The Aadhaar has been made mandatory by pimps in Goa because they reportedly want to ensure the "customers" are genuine and not cops, who have intensified their crackdown on prostitution in the state.

According to a Times of India report, the peculiar demand of "Aadhaar before sex" from Goa pimps came to light recently when 5 young men from Delhi sought paid sex in north Goa. The men reportedly had the phone number of a pimp who they called and sought 5 girls. The pimp, before he would commit, asked the men to give their Aadhaar numbers so that he could verify they were genuine customers. The men were told to click photos of their Aadhaar cards and send them through WhatsApp.

Interestingly the men complied, notes the report. It has been hinted that the pimp demanded photos of Aadhaar card because he wanted to ensure the customers were genuine, were from Delhi, and were not cops.

Aadhaar, which began life as a scheme to verify people who received government subsidies and benefits, has changed into this hydra-like programme where no one no longer knows its true purpose. Various government departments have mandated that it needs to be linked to almost everything, from birth certificates and educational degrees, to mobile phone numbers.

At the same time, many private agencies and companies too have started to demand Aadhaar ID or number before they could provide service, although it is not clear why it is demanded.

There is also a misconception, the one that is probably behind demands from Goa pimps, that Aadhaar is a sort of national ID that can verify a person. However, it is worth noting that UIDAI, the agency that looks after everything Aadhaar, has specified it again and again that Aadhaar is not an ID document and should not be used for this purpose. The agency also says that people should not share copies of their Aadhaar card with others, or share their Aadhaar number in public.