Following revelations that the verification exercise of cell phone customers in Jammu and Kashmir was not being carried out according to the prescribed guidelines, the Centre has decided to make the heads of the telecom companies personally responsible for any fraudulent use of a mobile phone in the Valley.
The Home Ministry has told the cellular operators that their CMDs would be made criminally liable if it was established that a mobile connection was given to a customer without his proper verification. The cellular operator�s franchisee in Jammu and Kashmir, which gave out the connection, would also be booked for criminal negligence.
The message was conveyed to the telecom firms during a meeting convened by the Home Ministry on Monday, sources said. CEOs and MDs of seven major telecom companies, BSNL, Airtel, Vodafone, Tata Teleservices, Rcom, Aircel and Idea had met senior Home Ministry officials on Monday during which the need to strictly adhere to the verification guidelines was stressed.
The Ministry, in a recent audit exercise, had found that the verification norms were being flouted in several cases leading to major security concerns.