Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, August 18 2009:
Manipur police have started intercepting mobile phones used by members of civil organisations which police suspect of having nexus with the underground groups operating in the state from the month of July last.
A source from state home department said the intercepting of the mobile phones is done with the help of a devise commonly known as Lawful Intercept (LI devise).
The devise is control by the state DGP.
He with only some his closed confident officers used the devise to intercept and detect the secrecy of the outlaw organizations contacting with their frontal organizations, the source added.
Six mobile operators are servicing in the state.
They are Reliance, Tata Indicom, BSNL, Vodaphone, Aricel and Airtel.
Within the law, these mobile phone operators has to assist the police, operators are extending their main screening centres through optical fibred cable (OFC) media with the police department.
Police intercepted talks on mobile phones between the undergrounds and its frontal organizations through the optical fibred cable connecting with the main screening centres located at Shillong, the source added.
With the help of the device, talks between two mobile phones can be intercepted.
The talks of certain matters which police doubt can also be tapped for recording.
As the device connected at the main screening centres it can also tap Short Massage Service (SMS).
Police department paid connection charges to the mobile operators for providing screening facilities by LI device amounting to some lakhs in rupees per year, the source maintained.
The source further said that since Tata Indicom has also be included in the screening by the police, the same operator has also provided CDMS facilities.
But, police is yet not taken up steps to intercept land line and WLL connection provided by the BSNL.
However, the source further said that police able to intercept mobile phone talking with the landline connections with the help of GMS facilities provided at the BSNL.
Mention may be made that opposition MLA O Joy had put up the matter of installation of equipments for locating the mobile phone calls received from the undergrounds in the house of the recently concluded state Assembly session.
Chief minister also, in his reply has said that government is trying to procure the same.