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.
The Customs officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on Thursday seized 4.2 kg gold valued at Rs 2.28 crore, and detained a man in this connection. A senior Customs officer said that the accused arrived at Mumbai Airport from Muscat.
The incident was reported on Tuesday morning. During the search operation, two big packets, weighing 15.5 kg and suspected to contain heroin, were recovered near Kakkar.
Passengers on board a routine Air India flight from Delhi to Sydney suffered injuries after the aircraft encountered severe turbulence. Fortunately, none of the injured passengers required hospitalisation, and all of them received immediate medical attention upon landing
A spokesperson for the Chief Minister's office said this landmark decision is aimed at encouraging the staff of the premier veterinary university to discharge their duties efficiently. This will help the teaching and non-teaching staff make concerted efforts to transform the destiny of farmers on one hand and make Punjab the frontrunner state on the other.
The matter came to light on April 18, when a complaint was lodged at Hauz Khas police station by a resident of Haridwar regarding cheating wherein the complainant stated that on March 21, he came to AIIMS hospital for treatment of his daughter and met a woman wearing coat showing her to be a junior resident.
In Sadulshahar, the NIA team is interrogating a few people connected to the gangsters. Those detained are being interrogated in closed rooms. The team has also reached the house of history-sheeter Vikram Laden - on the list of most wanted criminals - in Behror (Alwar).
