Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 8
‘Black marketing’ of pre-paid SIM cards is no secret here in Nagaland. Further corroborating the practice, the chief minister of Meghalaya, Mukul Sangma has hinted at pre-paid mobile SIM cards, originating from Nagaland and two other states of the north east, in use in that state for extortion activities. The other two states are Manipur and Mizoram.
According to reports of news agencies which quoted Meghalaya government officials, pre-paid SIM cards procured under fictitious names and fake identity cards make its way to Meghalaya ultimately landing in the hands of militant organisations of the state.
Going by the report there are strong technical evidence, sourced through tracing of mobile tower signals, suggesting a bulk of the SIM cards originated from Nagaland. The Meghalaya CM has taken serious note of the matter, agencies reports said.
The question now is whether the Nagaland government and its law enforcing agencies have any counter mechanism in place to tackle this all too evident menace? Director General of Police, Nagaland, K. Kire, IPS, queried on the matter Sunday evening replied it is quite possible ‘black marketing’ of pre-paid SIM cards is going on here. “We’ll look into it”, was the DGP’s assurance. With the state, particularly Dimapur unfortunately acting as a transit point for elements of NE insurgent outfits, the DGP held, there is every possibility of SIMs procured under false identities landing in the hands of militants from outside the state and within.
He held that the business/profit motive of network providers and SIM card distributors is in a way aiding to the problem. “The sellers (outlets/distributors) may think they are only doing simple business when selling the SIMs…however, they never seem to think of the possibilities of the cards falling into the wrong hands”, he said. To get to the source of the racket, law enforcement agencies will have to dig for further evidence, the DGP said.
Dimapur is unofficially a hotbed for ‘black marketing’ of pre-paid SIM cards.
Superintendent of Police Dimapur, Liremo Lotha said the district police have not received any intimation from any state or Meghalaya regarding the matter. “It would have been very helpful if they had supplied with inputs… we’d have reacted definitely”, he asserted.
The SP said network providers and outlets are regularly intimated to adhere to the guidelines as stipulated by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). A number of defaulters have also been penalized in the past for breaching the guidelines, he said.
State Home minister, Imkong L Imchen could not be reached for comments.
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