Disturbed over the recent terror attacks in quick successions at Hyderabad and Ajmer in which mobile phones were used to trigger blasts, the government is working on a fresh plan to evolve stringent guidelines to curb misuse of SIM cards by terrorists.
Informing about the move of the ministry of home affairs (MHA) to ensure that SIM cards were bought and used by genuine persons, sources in the ministry said, the officials are working to frame a set of rules to be adhered by the mobile service providers. ?While there is already a provision to verify the residential proof of those purchasing SIM cards, the focus will now be on post-sale verification of the connections?, they said.
As informed by the sources, home secretary Madhukar Gupta would soon meet telecom secretary DS Mathur for a detailed discussion on the issue so that the department of telecom could pass on necessary security guidelines to the service providers.
In the recent terror attacks caused by mobile phones at Mecca Mosque in Hyderabad and Dargah Sharif in Ajmer, SIM cards bore fictitious name?Babulal Yadav, and the photograph in the application form turned out to be of someone else.
Reports said that as many as five SIM cards were obtained from Malda in West Bengal by terrorists under fictitious identities before the Hyderabad and Ajmer blasts.
According to sources, while there were some guidelines to be followed before issuing SIM cards, MHA?s efforts now would be to ensure that they were followed strictly to ensure a certain degree of compliance.