Police probe BSNL plaint

PUNE: Senior police officials have confirmed that a Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), Pune, complaint regarding the misuse of its CellOne mobile service to make international calls is being investigated. Although the officials are convinced about the fraud, they declined to disclose details fearing it could hamper probe.
They said Pune has emerged as one of the major hubs of such operations as a number of BSNL subscribers in the city had been receiving bills worth lakhs of rupees."Fake phone numbers and addresses make it difficult to investigate such cases.
However, we have found some clues and the results will be seen soon," a senior official said. While the investigating officers declined to go on record, TNN confirmed that BSNL’s telecom revenue inspector, Bhalchandra Autade, had submitted an application to the Khadak police and the city police commissionerate regarding a multi-state, multinational racket misusing the CellOne service.
Investigating officials said it was clear that the conference facility was being misused to enable people with friends and relatives abroad to speak at highly-discounted rates. "Black money to the tune of a few crore rupees is in circulation in the city through this illegal operation," an official said.
Investigating officials said it appeared that the racket was using stolen phone and electricity bills and ration cards to give address proofs while purchasing mobile phones.
"As such, when a phone company issues bills, they go unpaid. And by the time the company disconnects service for non-payment of dues, it has already been cheated to the tune of lakhs of rupees," an official said.