Chandigarh, May 25 (IANS) To curb the menace of issuing SIM cards on fake identities, a major security threat, the Punjab Police have got blocked over 1.8 lakh SIM cards activated using fake identities and forged documents, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Thursday.
In one case 500 SIM cards have been issued with the same photograph but in different names by forging documents.
The Internal Security Wing in association with the Department of Telecom had begun a crackdown against distributors and agents selling SIM cards on fake identities.
Yadav said: "Action is being initiated against point of sales distributors, agents and other persons involved in issuing SIM cards on fake IDs."
The police have arrested 17 people, who were found involved in the sale of SIM cards on fake documents, besides registering 52 FIRs in the last three days.
Special DGP (Internal Security) R.N. Dhoke said that he had held multiple meetings with the Department of Telecom and telecom service providers. Subsequent to that action was taken.
He said Inspector General of Police (Counter Intelligence) Rakesh Agrawal has been made the nodal officer and a drive is on to further identify the SIM cards issued on fake IDs.
The special DGP also warned retailers of strict action for failing to comply with the Know Your Customer (KYC) norms, a lapse that resulted in the activation of thousands of SIM cards fraudulently.
"Special teams of the Counter Intelligence Wing have been coordinating with the district police to zero in on SIM card retailers, who activated different mobile phone numbers with the same proof of identity," he said, adding that they are also taking up the matter with the telecom authorities to blacklist such agents.
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, in a tweet, said: "As per the provisions under the Constitution of India, the following Additional Judges are appointed as Permanent Judges of Punjab and Haryana High Court: Vikas Bahl, Vikas Suri, Sandeep Moudgil, Vinod Sharma (Bhardwaj), Pankaj Jain, and Jasjit Singh Bedi."
Throughout his political career, Badal, who had once compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to former US President Abraham Lincoln, had always expressed "immense satisfaction and pride" over the strong and principled stand taken by his party "to save the beleaguered peasantry and the country".
Special judge M.K. Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Court will now pronounce the order on April 28. On April 18, he had reserved its decision on Sisodia's bail plea. The court had, a day before, extended Sisodia's judicial custody by two weeks in the case.
A man was held at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here for smuggling 1,010 gm gold worth Rs 54,25,205, an official said on Wednesday. The accused couldn't produce any document for carrying such a large quantity of gold.
Just after receiving the message the police informed senior officials, including ADG, law and order and ADG, intelligence. Amid the Chief Minister's zero tolerance policy for crime and operation bulldozer to demolish criminals' ill-gotten property, the threat has come as a big challenge for security officials.
The evacuation process named Operation Kaveri, started on April 23, as apart from INS Sumedha, two Indian Air Force aircraft were sent to bring back Indian citizens stuck in Sudan's capital Khartoum, where civil war broke out on April 15 after its army and paramilitary forces clashed with each other.
