A few Chinese mobile handset makers have adopted an effective business strategy by selling cheap mobile phones in India which actually made it popular in the market. But the end of these cheap mobile phones seems to be near in India.

The subsequent investigations after the terror blasts in the country have raised the eyebrows of Intelligence Bureau (IB) on these phones, as they have been found carrying fake International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers. The alleged terrorists have been using these widely available mobile to carry out their heinous operations.

The IB has earlier recommended the home ministry and the Department of telecommunications (DoT) to impose an immediate ban on these phones. The SIM card details cannot be traced from a phone without an IMEI number. The agencies suspect terrorists have taken advantage of that. As a result, agencies are facing hurdles in investigation as tracing out the details have become immensely difficult.

IMEI number
An IMEI number consists of 15-17 digits. Most of the branded mobile handsets carry a genuine IMEI number. On SIM activation, the number gets registered with the GSM service provider.  The handset can be blocked at anytime with the help of IMEI number.

Coming to CDMA phones, Electronic serial numbers act as a substitute of IMEI number.

The cops had earlier trapped these phones but it’s almost impossible to retrieve any details without IMEI numbers. This has become a serious concern for Indian authorities and it’s high time to put a ban on these phones.

Here comes one more question on the responsibility of China as these mobile phones violate international GSM standards, yet no action has been taken against them. The DoT also has to answer on the nationwide availability of these fake phones. X