SIM cards of Grameen Phone, Ak Tel and Citycell, which are very cheap, are immensely popular in areas like Jalangi, Dhulian and Lalgola in Murshidabad district.

After the matter was raised by central intelligence agencies and the BSF, the BSNL has begun a mapping of the vulnerable areas where these networks are active and has proposed to set up jammers along the Indo-Bangla border.

“It is an alarming issue. The matter was raised by us and thereafter it was discussed by the Union ministries of home and communication. We are extending all help to BSNL, which is mapping the border areas,” said a senior BSF officer in Kolkata.

These pre-activated cards find their way from Bangladesh to India through a network of dealers and smugglers.

“These SIM cards are very cheap and safe. These are available in India for a price of Rs 500 to Rs 1600, depending on the customer. Recharge coupons worth Taka 10, 50, 100 and 300 are also smuggled in. Sometimes, recharges are made over the phone too. Just a phone call to a person known to the Grameen user here is enough to get the account recharged,” said a dealer in cellphones in Lalgola area.

According to dealers, while an ISD to Bangladesh costs Rs 11 for a minute, a Grameen-to-Grameen call is 25 paise. This makes the SIM card popular among businessmen and smugglers who have to call up their contacts in Bangladesh regularly. Moreover, many of the residents in border areas have relatives in Bangladesh and use these SIM cards to talk to them.

Since these SIM cards are issued from dealers in Bangladesh, it is very difficult to trace their details. Terrorists and their contacts therefore also use these in India to avoid detection. A large number of Bangladeshi SIM cards have been recovered by the police from terrorists caught near the border in Murshidabad.

“We have a network of dealers in Bangladesh who activate the SIM cards there providing documents of people living there. Then the cards are smuggled to us,” the dealer added. These cards are available in shops that sell phones as also in grocery stores.