'Contain cell phone facilitated crime'

Himalayan News Service

KATHMANDU: The parliamentary Development Committee today directed the government to curb cross border crimes through SIM cards of Nepali mobile service providers. They have urged the authorities to control the use of SIM cards by criminals across the Nepal-India border.

Committee chairman Jitendra Sonal urged Minister for Information and Communications Shankar Pokharel and the authorities of the Nepal Telecom and Spice Nepal to immediately look into such incidents.

The lawmakers drew the government attention over the widespread use of SIMs distributed by the Spice Nepal by the criminals. The criminals call through cell phones an terrorise the Nepali businessmen in Bara, Parsa, Siraha, Saptari, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Nawalparasi and Kapilvastu districts.

Responding to the call during the committee's meeting at Singha Durbar, Minister Pokharel told that the government had initiated measures to control the cross border crimes which had been fuelled due to the easy accessibility of the SIM of Nepali mobile service providers. As the Nepali mobile companies cover 10 to 15 km area into the Indian territory, criminals have been found misusing the service for issuing threats to businessmen and for extortion and ransom in the bordering towns of Nepal.

Lawmaker Ramrati Ram of Siraha complained that the local administration was helpless in controlling such crimes despite her several complaints.

Minister Pokharel said a special device was to be installed to block the coverage of the Nepali mobile SIMs across the border. He said the issue would be discussed with the Nepal Telecom, a regulatory body of telecom services in the country.