Police feel number portability blues

Bangalore: The introduction of mobile number portability (MNP) in the country is likely to send the crime investigators on a wild goose chase.

A senior police officer said the MNP, likely to be introduced next week, would turn out to be a headache to investigating agencies since offenders might use the 60-day portability period to hide their tracks.

"The offender will go untraced during this portability period. We will be unable to track his movements during the portability period. We will have to wait till he approaches a new service provider," joint commissioner of police (crime) Alok Kumar said.

The officer said that the offender need not inform the parent service provider if he was to opt for a new one.

"This is the catch in the entire exercise of MNP. It will affect our investigation into crimes. The same is the case when an offender dumps the Sim card for a new one. After he buys the new Sim card we will have to trace him through the unique IMEI (international mobile equipment identity) number in the handset," Kumar said.

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The police were of the opinion that the parent mobile service provider or the new one should maintain records of the subscriber.

"If this is not done, it will turn out to be a boon to offenders. The rule to maintain the records of the subscribers should be vested either with the parent service provider or the new one to which the person has migrated. Otherwise, crime investigation will go for a toss," Kumar warned.

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Police officers have noticed that offenders normally changed their mobile numbers after committing an offence. The police even pointed out that a notorious criminal in the city, Cycle Ravi, had nearly 60 Sim cards. Officers said they would be facing an uphill task following the introduction of MNP.

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