In a bid to snap communication channels of criminals and terrorists, the city police have embarked on a drive against illegal Sim card providers in the city.
As many as 30 persons were arrested during the past fortnight for breaching the rule on Sim card sale, a senior police officer said in Bangalore on Monday.
The police found that most criminals were using illegally procured Sim cards to commit offence. Police initiated the crackdown on Sim card providers after the central crime branch arrested three persons and seized 682 illegal Sim cards from them.
It was learnt that the top brass of the police had taken serious note of the illegal Sim card sale, and alerted all police stations in the city against the agents who sell those cards.
Additional commissioner of police (crime) Alok Kumar said criminals purchased Sim cards for a higher price. According to the law, proof of address and identity card should be produced in order to purchase and activate a Sim card.
However, several sellers were found to be giving out Sims without checking the credentials of the buyer. In many cases, the sellers themselves forged documents for the buyer.
Instances of providing Sims using documents presented by law-abiding mobile phone users have also been reported in the city.
The city police had also convened a meeting of marketing executives of mobile phone service providers. They were instructed to strictly adhere to the guidelines set for providing mobile phone connections. The executives were also warned that they would face legal action if their firms continued providing connections to customers without proper verification of documents.
Kumar said the police would book cases against those selling Sim cards illegally. Nearly 50% of the crime would be reduced if the sale of illegal Sims were stopped in the state, he added.
The police would be writing to the Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cell of the Department of Telecommunications to take necessary action against the service providers who sell Sims, breaching the law.
Incase a Sim was lost, the customer care department of the service provider should be immediately informed to deactivate the card. A written FIR copy from a police station should be obtained from the station and then submitted to the nearest store of the operator, for a duplicate Sim. Thus, the same number could be retained. If a pre-paid customer, the user would receive the remaining talk-time (balance) as well.
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