Mobile dealers under scrutiny for selling SIM cards without papers

NEW DELHI: Three major mobile dealers in the city have come under the scanner for selling SIM cards without even the basic papers , leave alone conducting a background check. The special operations squad of the crime branch , led by additional DCP Sanjay Bhatia , has registered a case under IPC sections 467 (forgery of a valuable security will), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating ), 471 (using as genuine a forgeddocumentwhichis known to be forged ), 420 (cheating ) and 120B (criminal conspiracy ) on Tuesday .

“We have registered the case after we found that a total of 1,358 SIM cards were sold to people who had given fake addresses . All the SIM cards were procured at different times from the three different dealers from Outer Delhi over the past two years . We have found 35 fictitious bank accounts . When we contacted the service provider , since all the SIM cards belonged to one particular service provider , it informedusthatthedealershave assured them that the papers are in order and that all addresses were verified . We are now collecting evidence against the accused ,’’ said DCP (crime ) Ashok Chand .

Sources claimed that all primary evidences have been collected. “We expect to detain and question them before we arrest them ,’’ said the source .

Police said they moved in after getting clearance from DoT. “We have asked the service provider to join the investigations . We are on the verge of unearthing one of the biggest SIM card frauds in northwest Delhi, where distributors blindly sell SIM cards without the mandatory verification just to increase sells and meet the monthly target . This is against the rules . Moreover , this may pose a security threat ,’’ said an officer .

The case was registered following investigations into a fake loan racket in which 1,358 SIM cards of a single service provider had been bought in the past two years .