Reliance WLL — A boon for criminals?

UJJAIN: Investigations being carried out by the police into the reported allotment of mobile (WLL) phone connections of Reliance Infocomm through forged identity proofs in Ujjain have brought to light alarming aspects of the scam.

Alleged fake connections issued by the local dealer of the company in connivance with agents have become a problem for several innocent people but has been a boon for criminals. While three cases of cheating have so far been registered in different police stations, eight mobile instruments have also been seized until now.

The police has also arrested three agents with five instruments in their possession. The interrogation revealed that several connections had been issued by presenting fake identity proofs. The police said the dealer and agents, probably with an aim of multiplying profits and achieving targets issued phones to someone whereas papers were filed in another name or some non-existing person.

RK Plaza resident Mragendra Parihar has no Reliance phone connection but he received a bill for the phone number 3126557 issued in his name. Agent Shailendra Kushwah allegedly gave this connection to one Munna Ansari. Similarly, numbers 3222304 and 3222271 were issued by using the ration card of Ramcharan Khangar who has long been dead.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ramansingh Sikarwar said the highest numbers of connections were issued between August 24 and 31 during a special offer of the company. The connections were sold even on hand-carts in the city, he added. Sikarwar said that the phones were the choice of criminals and anti- socials as their identity remained hidden. With ISD facility in these phones, the ASP did not rule out the possibility of using the phones in terrorist and anti-national activities.

Police have registered cases of fraud against local dealer Kulbhushan Juneja (Kukki) and his two accomplices Deepak Rai and Jai Kaushal under Sections 420 and 467 of the IPC. Rakisingh Bhanuprakash Singh is the applicant. The police had already arrested three agents Shek Shafi, Lavjeetsingh Tomar and Amol Inamdar seizing five instruments from them.

According to the ASP the salesmen had told customers at the time of delivering the phone to use it as much as they wanted as they would not be billed. Thus, slapping huge financial loses to the company. Sikarwar further said that these CDMA instruments were being converted into GSM with some technical change at a cost of Rs 1,000 or so.

While the common cellular phone has a distinctive serial number and with the help of the SIM card the user can be traced, the tampered instruments bring new problems for the police. The ASP said that there were over 3,000 Reliance Infocomm connections in Ujjain and it was anticipated that over 500 were fake ones. Police has asked the company to furnish details about the customers so that the matter could be investigated in depth. However, the dealer seemed averse to provide the information to the police.

When contacted, Atul Kulshrashta legal head of Reliance Infocomm in the region declined to comment on the issue.

(CNS)