Vinod M Jain
An illegal telephone exchange allegedly operated through a SIM Box setup has been traced in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area, prompting the registration of a case by the Whitefield CEN Crime Police Station.
The case was registered on August 26 based on a complaint by Raghavendra C,Chief Circle Nodal Officer of Bharti Airtel Limited,under Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act,2000;Sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023;and Section 42(3)(d) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023.
According to the complaint, the company received information from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on August 15 and subsequently from the Police Department on August 25 regarding Airtel SIM cards allegedly being used in an illegal SIM Box operation in the Whitefield and Kadugodi areas.
The complainant alleged that the unauthorized SIM Box arrangement was being used to illegally route telecommunications traffic,potentially causing financial losses to the telecom company and loss of government revenue.
The complaint further stated that the operation could amount to unauthorized provision of telecommunication services and misuse of telecom resources.
Such setups can also interfere with lawful interception mechanisms and raise concerns over national security, the complainant alleged.
Police have been requested to seize the SIM Box equipment,SIM cards,networking devices and other digital evidence,identify those operating the illegal exchange and take appropriate legal action.
The Whitefield CEN Crime Police are investigating the case and are likely to ascertain the scale of the operation and the persons behind it.
