Malappuram: Two held for illegal sale of SIM cards

MALAPPURAM: The Special Investigation Team which was constituted after the Malappuram Collectorate blast last month arrested a mobile shop owner and an employee in Perinthalmanna on Friday for obtaining and selling more than 200 mobile SIM cards using fake documents. They have been identified as Ullattil Rasheed and Ahamed Sajeer who runs the shop in Ooty road in the town.

The forgery being carried on in the mobile shop was unearthed by the SIT during its probe into the transactions of all such shops in the district in the wake of the blast. The two accused had obtained SIM cards from a private telecom operator which provided offers for bulk purchase. The shop then sold it to customers without valid identification documents and photographs as per the rules. SIM cards meant for free sale have been sold by charging between Rs 200 and 300, the police said.

The Police have also found that a majority of the SIM cards have been activated using photo copies of the identification documents provided by the migrant labourers and their fake signatures. The Police have also found more copies of such documents in the shop. Both Rasheed and Sajeer were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate of Perinthalmanna on Friday. The SIT will beef up raids in mobile shops in all Police station limits in the district and take stringent action against defaulters, said Debesh Kumar Behera, the district Police Chief.