Man who used to change IMEI numbers of stolen phones held
The Mumbai crime branch on Wednesday arrested a 27-year-old man who used to change the IMEI numbers of expensive stolen mobile phones and resell them. The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is a unique serial number alloted to every GSM mobile phone and is used by networks to identify valid phones and block stolen or blacklisted phones.
The police had recently searched for a stolen mobile phone through its IMEI number. However, the accused, Vijay Narvankar, changed the IMEI number of the stolen phone though an electronic machine, which cops suspect he bought from China.
Narvankar used to buy expensive phones from a mobile theft gang operating in the western suburbs. He would also buy old phones at a cheap price. He would then deactivate the IMEI number of the stolen phones and replace it with the IMEI numbers of the old phones using the machine.
Narvankar worked at a mobile shop at Malwani, Malad (West). Following a tip-off, the police laid a trap and arrested him. They recovered several mobile phones from him.
Narvankar had been involved in the illegal activity since the past six months, police said. He was produced before a court on Wednesday and has been remanded in police custody till March 27.
A 35-year-old domestic help in Mumbai lost Rs80,000 after someone allegedly cloned her debit card and withdrew the money in two separate transactions in Delhi.
According to the police, the second transaction was carried out even after the complainant, Zarinabi Arif Sayyed, 35, blocked her card after the first one. Sayyed is a resident of Gilbert Hill, Juhu Galli. On March 18, she received an SMS from her bank at 11.29 am, informing her that Rs40,000 had been withdrawn from an ATM in RK Puram, Sadh Nagar, Delhi, police said.
Sayyed had her card with her at the time.
According to the police, she telephoned the State Bank of India’s toll-free number and blocked the debit card on March 19, around 1.35 am.
The customer care representative confirmed that Sayyed’s card had been blocked.
However, around 6.30 pm, she received another SMS informing her about a second withdrawal of Rs 40 000 from an
The DN Nagar police registered an FIR under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by personation) of the Information Technology Act.
According to the police, Sayyed is sure her card has been cloned. She no one had called her posing as a bank official, so the possibility of her sharing her details with a stranger did not arise. “I am in a lot of trouble. Rs80,000 is a huge amount for me. I have lost all my savings. I hope the bank returns my money as it is not my fault ”
The Tilak Nagar police on Saturday arrested a 53-year old man for molesting his daugh ter for the past one year.
In her statement to the police the 14-year-old girl said her father would harass her often and touch her inappropriately.
“The man would force his daughter to touch him inappro priately when his wife was not at home,” said an officer from the Tilak Nagar police station.
The girl said her father threat ened to kill her if she told anyone about the sexual abuse. How ever, she confided in her mother
“The woman then confronted her husband, who threatened her. Scared, both mother and daughter decided not to speak up,” added an officer.
On Saturday, the Class 9 stu dent told her principal about the molestation. The principal called an NGO, seeking help. The girl and her mother went to the Tilak Nagar police, who regis tered a case. “We dispatched a team to trace the accused. We found him in the area and brought him to the police sta tion,” said an officer.
The accused was booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Protection of Children from Sex