Rajasthan blocks 236k suspicious SIMs, 229k phones to curb cybercrime

In a bid to curb cyber crimes in Mewat region, Rajasthan Police has blocked 2.36 lakh suspicious SIMs and 2.29 lakh mobile handsets, officials said on Monday.

In the last two months, police have recovered more than 5,000 stolen and lost mobiles and returned them to their owners, a statement by the police said.

According to the statement, "Operation Antivirus" is being run in coordination with the Government of India and the Centre's department of telecommunications.

Director General of Police (Cyber ?Crime) Hemant Priyadarshi said police have identified cyber criminals based on their records in the 'Operation Antivirus' database and taken effective action against them.

Police have identified around 2.36 lakh suspicious SIMs and around 2.29 lakh mobile handsets with suspicious IMEI and got them blocked by contacting the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, due to which cyber crime has decreased drastically in the Mewat region, the DGP said.

IMEI is a 15-digit number that uniquely identifies a mobile device.

Priyadarshi said that all district superintendents of police have been instructed to run a campaign on mobile theft.

In the last two months, more than 5,000 lost mobiles have been successfully traced across the state, he said.

Most of these mobiles have been returned to their owners through the district superintendents of police, and for the process of returning the remaining mobiles is also going on, the officer said.