JOIN USThe Central Crime Branch (CCB) police claimed to have busted a racket of selling mobile phone Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards illegally, using a particular software.
The suspects were identified as Santosh (24) and Satish (34), both residents of SR Nagar.
The police arrested two persons in this regard and seized 2,927 SIM cards of various service providers, two cellphones, device to change International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), mobile handsets and Rs 1.41 lakh in cash.
According to the police, the duo, wholesale distributors of Reliance and Idea, would sell the SIM cards based on the applications. They had a device named pacer equipped with a software that can change the IMEI number of a handset. The IMEI number of the handset used by a person to activate a SIM card is registered with the respective service providers. The two would change the IMEI number of their handsets using the pacer device while activating a SIM card. Thus, they activated a large number of SIM cards and sold them for higher prices, said the police.
They would use the genuine application forms, documents and pictures to activate the SIM card cards, said the police.
Criminals and fraudsters would always obtain SIM cards from such persons, indulge in crimes and damage the SIM cards to destroy evidence, added the police.
The preliminary investigation indicated that the two suspects had about 250 such outlets across the City. Halasuru Gate police have registered case against the duo.
Students assaulted
A 22-year-old student was beaten up by a group of miscreants in Bhoopasandra under Sanjay nagar police limits on Friday night, for reasons unknown.
According to the police, the victim is Merwin Michael Joy, a native of Kottayam, Kerala, and a degree student at a private college in Bhoopasandra.
On Friday night, Joy, along with his roommates Jasbin and Kameshwar, went to a Kerala mess. They picked up food from the mess and came out to find a man deflating the tyre of their motorcycle. Immediately, they questioned the man who told them that the police had asked him to deflate the tyre. The trio started arguing with the person who was joined by four others. The gang of four manhandled the trio but upon public intervention, the miscreants left the spot, said the police.
However, the unknown persons followed the youths to their house and found Joy standing outside the house. They caught hold of him and thrashed him. Jasbin and Kameshwar, who tried to rescue Joy, were also beaten up. The miscreants fled the spot, added the police.
A case has been registered in Sanjaynagar police station.