VI agent booked for issuing 102 SIMs on forged documents

A Vodafone-Idea agent and his aide were arrested in Mumbai for issuing 102 SIM cards using forged documents and a single person's photograph. The accused did this to meet sales targets and receive incentives. The incident was discovered by the Department of Telecommunications, who alerted Vodafone-Idea officials. The duo has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Mumbai: A Vodafone-Idea (VI) agent and his aide were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly issuing 102 SIM cards based on forged documents in the names of different people but using a photograph of a single person.

HT Image

The accused have been identified as Shamir Ali, 23, and Shahrukh Aslam Shaikh, 23. According to the police, Ali is the owner of a Kurla-based shop named Aryaan Mobile Communications, and Shaikh provided his picture to be used for issuing the SIM cards.

“During the interrogation, the duo confessed that they committed the crime to fulfil the sell target to get incentives,” an officer from Ghatkopar police station said.

The incident came to light in April when the department of telecommunications (DoT) noticed that photographs of the customers to whom the SIMs were issued were the same but their names and Aadhar numbers were different. They suspected that the SIM cards were activated based on forged documents and alerted the nodal VI official, who lodged a complaint.

In the complaint, Subhash Das, 37, stated that the information uploaded in the VI Connect app was verified by their team and once it was found all documents were submitted, the SIM cards issued to the customers were activated. “The retailer is responsible for document verification, and every month, the VI shares SIM card details and related documents and photographs of the users with DoT,” said a police officer. “It appeared that the SIM cards were issued by submitting bogus documents, and the cards were activated using a single photograph with multiple names and addresses.”

The duo has been booked under sections 420 (cheating), 465 (punishment for forgery), 468 (forgery), and 471 (whoever fraudulently or dishonestly uses as genuine any document) of the Indian Penal code.