The company is accused of defrauding the police department through mismanagement of traffic e-challan payments.
Digiyatra, the digital initiative aimed at providing a seamless, paperless airport check-in experience through facial recognition technology, has found itself embroiled in a significant controversy. Dataevolve Solutions, the vendor responsible for the development of Digiyatra's Central EcoSystem, is currently under scrutiny by the Andhra Pradesh police. The company is accused of defrauding the police department through mismanagement of traffic e-challan payments. This scandal comes in the wake of last year's arrest of Komireddi Avinash, CEO of the Hyderabad-based company, for allegedly siphoning funds by cloning payment gateways linked to traffic e-challans.
Despite the controversy, Suresh Khadakbhavi, CEO of the Digiyatra Foundation—which is partly managed by the Airports Authority of India—insists that the shift away from Dataevolve is primarily due to the app's expanding user base and the need for an architectural overhaul in preparation for international features and additional services like hotel check-ins.
However, cyber security experts are raising alarms about the potential misuse of data, as the app was initially built on Dataevolve’s infrastructure. Khadakbhavi counters these claims by stating that all user data remains on individual devices and is purged within 24 hours of flight check-in, in compliance with security audits conducted at airports.
Privacy advocates criticize Digiyatra for its opaque governance structure and the lack of public disclosures concerning data security and user privacy. Disha Verma from the Internet Freedom Foundation highlights ongoing concerns about the management of sensitive information, such as facial biometrics and Aadhaar data, during its partnership with Dataevolve. She argues that the foundation's refusal to make its data security audits public only adds to the unreliability and privacy fears surrounding Digiyatra.
