Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Mobiles becoming a menace?

Misuse of cell phones especially by pranksters is a cause for concern, writes V. S. PALANIAPPAN

THE GADGET that was once a blessing is slowly becoming a nuisance. Misuse of cellular phones by some pranksters has become a cause for concern not only for the victims but also the law-enforcing agency.

With the cellular firms refusing to curb such misuses and asking the victims to set the law in motion, the affected subscribers and the police are at a loss in tackling this menace.

The misuses vary. In certain cases, the mischievous elements use a pre-paid Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card to maintain anonymity and make hoax calls about bomb threats. These persons give false documents and take a SIM card. They will throw the card away once their purpose is served.

The pranksters avoid using public call offices as there is a risk of being identified by the attendants.

The next but major misuse on the rise is obscene calls that harass women mostly and to some extent men as well. The callers using these prepaid SIM cards send obscene Short Message Service (SMS) and start giving missed calls at odd hours. They either dial the number of woman or ring at random. In the event of the receiver being a woman, the harassment continues.

When the affected persons stand up against such harassment, they seldom find any help from the cellular firms. When we request the firms to give the identity of the caller or to warn the subscriber, there is very little help forthcoming, points out a victim.

The firms point out that they are neither competent nor qualified to question the subscriber in case of dispute. In the event of the complaint either being false or factually being incorrect, the firms fear the risk of losing a genuine subscriber. Revealing the identity of the subscriber will only result in law and order problems, the firms point out.

Even if the victim gives a complaint in writing, the firms advise the victim to approach the police and route the request through them for initiating action.

Earlier, some of the firms did issue warnings to the subscriber but that has faded away over a period of time.

According to the city police officials, in the event of a complaint, stringent legal provisions such as Prevention of Harassment of Women Act and Obscenity in Indian Penal Code can be invoked against the mischievous elements. There have been cases where the intervention of the police has ensured an end to the menace, the police say.

Probably coordination between the cellular firms and police may ensure some immediate solution, the victims say.

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