The police, on Thursday, arrested three persons on charges of cheating and forgery. The arrested, who ran retail outlets of telecoms service providers, allegedly sold pre-activated SIM cards for higher prices and forged documents.
The arrested were identified as Deepu, who ran an outlet on Doddi Road; Nishant, who ran an outlet in Channapatna village; and Manoj, who ran an outlet in the heart of the city. Superintendent of Police Ravi D. Channanavar told The Hindu that the arrests were made following a complaint by an Airtel official.
They had allegedly used a single set of documents to obtain multiple SIM cards from different service providers and activate them. They would later sell these SIM cards for a higher price to people who did not provide proper address proof. “They have flouted norms set by the Department of Telecommunications,” Mr. Channanavar said.
The arrested were remanded to judicial custody. An FIR was registered under Sections 420 (Cheating) and 468 (Forgery) of the Indian Penal Code.
AllegationsBased on the complaint filed by the Airtel official, the local police reportedly interrogated around 15 retailers and finally registered the case against only three.
According to reports in a section of the media, the police demanded huge sums as bribes from retailers to let them off.
When The Hindu sought his reaction to such reports, Mr. Channanavar said that he would probe the allegations.
“I will not tolerate such things. If anybody informs me of anything like this, I will take action immediately against the officer concerned,” he said.
