J&K: Scores Detained for Providing Sim Cards to Militants

Srinagar: Scores of people have been formally arrested or detained across Jammu and Kashmir on charges of providing separatist militants and other ‘undesirable elements” with Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards to facilitate their access to mobile network services as the State Investigation Agency and the district police units have intensified their campaign against the alleged misuse of such facilities.

Confirming it, the police sources here said on Sunday that specially constituted teams have conducted extensive inspections at various places in the districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal, Anantnag, Budgam, Pulwama, Shopian and Bandipora of the Kashmir Valley and Samba and Kishtwar in the Jammu region to ensure strict compliance with the rules and norms including ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’ by the SIM card vendors. “These measures are aimed at preventing any unauthorized issuance and misuse of SIM cards so that the security and integrity of communication networks are maintained,” the sources said.

Investigations have revealed that apart from communicating with each other, their Over Ground Workers (OWGs), sympathisers or collaborators within and contacts outside the country including Pakistan by making direct calls or using the Internet and various free messaging and calling applications, the militants, on a few occasions, attached SIM cards to Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) for detonating purposes.

The sources said that in the past one year more than thirty persons have formally been arrested and several others were recently detained for obtaining SIM cards in their names and then passing them on to terrorists and other “undesirable elements” for carrying out unlawful activities.

“J&K police remain committed to public safety and will continue with the enforcement measures towards preventing the exploitation of communication networks by anti-national and criminal elements,” a statement issued here said. It urged the citizens to exercise caution regarding SIM cards issued in their names and said, “Any individual found facilitating the misuse of SIM cards for terrorism or organized crime will face strict legal consequences”.

The sources said that among those arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the Arms Act, the Explosive Substances Act or/and the relevant section of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for procuring and then misusing SIM cards for facilitating separatist militants to have access to mobile network services include Ashiq Hussain Wani, Shahid Saleem Lone, Sheikh Usama Yaseen, Umar Fayaz Sheikh, Afnan Mansoor Naik, Muhammad Khalil and Muhammad Shabir.

The J&K police statement said, “The intensified measures are a crucial step toward dismantling the operational infrastructure of terrorist organizations and enhancing public safety”. It added, “Citizens are encouraged to report suspicious activities and work collaboratively with law enforcement agencies to prevent exploitation of communication systems.”