Army files FIR against Airtel over unverified SIM cards in Manipur

Distributing pre-activated SIM cards without verification is considered a security threat, besides being in direct contradiction of official guidelines.

The Indian Army has filed an FIR against Airtel and the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) for distributing pre-activated SIM cards for the mobile without verification as this not only constituted a grave security threat, but was also in direct contradiction of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) guidelines.

On July 21, the army formation at Manipur learnt that ATSUM was giving pre-activated SIM cards of Airtel connection for the mobile.

It was further learnt that the number of such SIM cards was about 2,000 and these cards in the possession of militants would adversely impact on the military functioning in the area.

The Airtel head at Guwahati was intimated about it and he promised to look into the matter, but no action was taken yet.

Later, the Army filed an FIR against Airtel as well as ATSUM on July24.

Meanwhile, reacting to the story, an Airtel spokesperson said: "As a responsible company, we ensure full compliance with all regulations and guidelines laid down by the government. We are investigating the matter and will extend our complete cooperation to the authorities, as may be required."