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.
Punjab has only two per cent of India's population, while it has nearly 10 per cent of the total licensed weapons which stand at nearly 4 lakh, or 13 gun licenses for every 1,000 persons in the state.
The Shiromani Akali Dal on Friday asked the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab to list development works initiated by it as well as disclose capital assets created to justify the "unprecedented" borrowing of Rs 39,200 crore for nine months of the current fiscal with Rs 14,700 crore being borrowed for the third quarter.
Shraddha, who was beaten up and strangled to death and then chopped into 35 pieces by Aftab, had conversations with her friends and a co-worker either on WhatsApp or Instagram. She had told them that she has been physically assaulted by Aftab since the beginning of their relationship.
Bhambri Kunal, 26, who first came to Singapore in 2018 to study, pleaded guilty to three counts of dealing with the benefits of criminal conduct. In exchange for at least $100, Kunal, who was jailed on Wednesday, withdrew cash totalling more than $26,000 from Singapore bank accounts.
Earlier, on November 14, SKM's National Council held a meeting at Gurudwara Rakabganj and strongly condemned the Modi government for betraying the farmers by not implementing the written assurances made on December 9, 2021 for legally guaranteed MSP, withdrawal of the Electricity Bill, among other demands.
The investigators doubted his version and on strong questioning and through digital evidences, including the use of her Instagram account, which showed the location of the Mehrauli area, Poonawalla finally confessed to killing the victim and then chopping her body into 35 pieces and was arrested on November 12.
