The Hindu : Confusion over `user charge' for stolen mobiles

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 08, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Confusion over `user charge' for stolen mobiles

By Marri Ramu

HYDERABAD, FEB. 7. Like it or not. If a subscriber is reporting the loss of his/her mobile handset to the police, he/she has to pay Rs.100 to the police.

But not many in the city police ranks have a clue about this `rule.' And those who know and insist on payment of the `user charge,' there is confusion as to whether the money is to be paid when the mobile is stolen.

While some officers asserted that the police were not supposed to collect any user charge whenever someone reported the missing of a mobile phone, enquiries established that there was a Government order for collection of such a charge. The order stipulated that the complainant pay Rs. 100 to file a report of `missing of a cell phone.'

But here comes the hitch. What if someone's phone is stolen and the matter is to be reported to the police? Police officers, at least in two instances, insisted that the complainant had to pay the user charge. Prem Kumar, who approached the Kanchanbagh police with a complaint that his cellular phone was stolen from his house in Santoshnagar in December last, was instructed to pay Rs. 100 through a challan. "They received my complaint only after I submitted the challan receipt," he recalled.

Questions as to why Mr. Kumar should pay crop up since he was just reporting the crime. Is it a case of the police at the lower level failing to differentiate between `lost' and `stolen?' The Annexure-2 of a memo issued by the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, on October 9, 2003, lists out 74 service descriptions for which user charges are to be collected. The 44th item deals with the prescribed fee for `report on missing of cell phone' and stipulates collection of Rs. 100.

But, it does not elaborate on other details on whether the money is to be paid for merely registering the complaint or for obtaining a copy of the final report after the investigation. In Mr. Prem Kumar's case, the police insisted on money for receiving the complaint.

In another case, Priya Ganesh was reportedly asked to pay money through challan by the Chikkadpally police to receive a complaint.

The Police Commissioner, R.P. Singh, however, maintained that instructions were issued not to collect user charges for lodging complaints relating to mobile phones. But when his attention was drawn to the October 9 circular, Mr. Singh said he had to examine the matter.

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Andhra Pradesh