Cops seek user details of 1,000 ‘bogus’ SIM cards

[iS THAT ME]

Cops seek user details of 1,000 ‘bogus’ SIM cards​

Ahmedabad: Vastrapur police, in their attempt to get to the roots of the SIM card racket, have asked telecom operators in the city to furnish user details of the 1,000 SIM cards issued by Ravindra Panchal, kingpin of the fraud.

Earlier on March 18, Vastrapur police raided Panchal's establishments in Chandlodia and recovered more than 2,500 activated SIM cards from his residence. The cache forced Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials on their toes who rushed to Vastrapur police station to gather all details about Panchal.

Investigations in the matter revealed that Panchal acquired ID proofs and documents from his customers for one SIM card but used them to activate numerous others as well. He then sold these activated SIM cards in bulk at cheaper rates. Cops learnt that a contract employee of a telecom operator was also involved in the racket. Based on Panchal's tip-off, police detained one Naresh who used his contacts in the company to activate SIM cards.

Vastrapur police have learnt that apart from the 2,500 SIM cards recovered, there are 1,000 more currently in circulation. Cops are seeking help of telecom operators of these SIM cards to track down these illegal users.

"We don't know whether they are used by actual owners or bogus ones. We need help from operators to bust the whole scam," said a police official.

According to sources, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has taken notice of the situation and has asked mobile phone operators to give further details into the matter.


http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/GUJ-AHD-cops-seek-user-details-of-1000-%E2%80%98bogus-sim-cards-3017752.html