Vodafone Idea asked to pay Rs 28 lakh fine after issuing duplicate SIM without verifying customer’s documents

The accused customer who was issued the duplicate SIM card was able to withdraw Rs 68.5 lakh from the account of the first customer as the SIM card was linked to his overdraft facility, as per reports.

Rajasthan government's IT Department has asked Vodafone Idea Limited to compensate Rs 27,53,183 to one of its customers who lost Rs 68.5 lakh after the telecom company issued a duplicate SIM for his mobile number to another man without properly verifying documents. The accused customer who was issued the SIM card was able to withdraw Rs 68 lakh from the account of the first customer as the SIM card was linked to his overdraft facility, as per reports. The funds were thus transferred illegally into the accused’s account through the duplicate SIM card that was issued by Vi without proper verification. The case dates back to May 2017, when Krishna Lal Nain, a Vi user’s mobile number stopped working, after which he filed a complaint in Hanumangarh. He received a new number but it did not get activated despite several complaints. By the time he took his complaint to a Jaipur store and got his number activated, five days had passed and the accused with the duplicate SIM had transferred the money illegally through OTPs.