New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) A licensed telecom Point of Sale (PoS) agent was arrested for illegally activating SIM cards in violation of the prescribed ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) norms and supplying these to persons involved in cyber fraud, a Delhi Police official said on Sunday.

Shivam was arrested by Cyber Police Station of Delhi Police’s Central District on July 2 near Hindu Rao Hospital in north Delhi, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Rohit Rajbir Singh.

He was operating as a licensed telecom PoS agent under the name “Shivam Telecom” from a temporary roadside setup.

During interrogation, the accused admitted that he deliberately activated additional SIM cards by misusing the identity documents and biometric credentials of genuine customers and sold the pre-activated SIM cards for Rs 500–600 per SIM without complying with the mandatory KYC requirements, the DCP added.

The police recovered incriminating digital logs and activation documentation matching blacklisted SIM profiles from Shivam, a resident of Baljeet Nagar with roots in Uttar Pradesh’s Siddharthnagar.

Shivam’s previous involvement was found in an FIR registered under Sections 103(1)/249/318(3)/61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 25/27 Arms Act at Paschim Vihar Police Station.

“Investigation revealed that the accused, while operating a licensed telecom Point of Sale from a temporary roadside stall, deliberately violated the prescribed KYC norms and biometric verification procedures for activation of SIM cards,” the police said.

The illegally activated SIM cards were subsequently used by cyber criminals to contact victims, facilitate financial frauds, create digital payment accounts and conceal their identities during the commission of cyber offences, the police added.

The case came to light during the analysis of intelligence inputs relating to PoS agents operating in the National Capital Territory of Delhi whose activated SIM cards the Central District were repeatedly found involved in cyber fraud cases registered across the country, the police said.

“During scrutiny of such intelligence inputs, three retail outlets, namely Shiva SIMs, Nitish Telecom and Shivam Telecom, functioning within the jurisdiction of Central District, came under suspicion,” the police added.

Preliminary verification revealed that SIM cards activated in the names of innocent persons were being supplied to local as well as interstate cyber fraud syndicates, the police said.

–IANS

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