Navi Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai Crime Branch Unit II has arrested a Tata Docomo SIM card distributor and an employee of a private firm, under whom the distributor functioned, for using fake documents to activate SIM cards to meet their monthly target.
The accused have been identified as Vijay Hariprasad Yadav (27), owner of V.J. Mobiles at Hari Om CHS, Sector 7, Khanda Colony, and Satish Harichandra Gaikwad (32), a resident of Vashi Naka in Chembur.
While Yadav was the distributor of the SIM cards, Gaikwad was the area manager of the firm under whom the distributors functioned. According to the police, Gaikwad would provide the fake documents to Yadav to get SIM cards activated from the service provider.
Crime Branch Unit II officials had received a tip-off about six SIM cards that were registered in fake names. They approached Tata Docomo to verify the details of the connections. “We learnt that the SIM cards belonged to fake people and had fake registered addresses. In some of the documents submitted, like Aadhaar card and voter IDs, the photograph was changed, in some the name, and in some the address,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Nitin Kausdikar said.
On learning about the fake documents, the Tata Docomo sales manager registered a complaint with the Khandeshwar Police Station under Sections 465, 467, 471 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
As all the SIM cards had been activated through V.J. Mobiles, Senior Police Inspector Nivrutti Kolhatkar and his team raided the shop and seized 1,120 SIM cards, eight mobile phones used to activate SIM cards, 13 prepaid application forms, and 16 rubber stamps in the name of various mobile shops.
“Yadav had made rubber stamps in the name of different mobile shops in the vicinity so that he could use them for the fake activation. The intention was to not get caught if the service provider realised that the connections were fake,” Mr. Kolhatkar said. According to the police, Gaikwad has revealed the name of one more person involved in the crime, who would make the fake documents, but he is yet to be traced. They are also trying to trace the computer used to make the fake documents.
The shop had a monthly target to activate 2,100 SIM cards. If it did not meet the target, the shop owner would earn less commission. “After getting the SIM cards activated, they kept them in the shop. Till now, we have not found any of these SIM cards,” Assistant Police Inspector Subhash Pujari from Crime Branch Unit II said. The accused have been remanded in police custody till April 15.
