Question : ILLEGAL RE ROUTING OF INTERNATIONAL CALLS

(a) whether the case of illegal re-routing of international calls which causes loss of crores of rupees to the Government and telecom companies has come to light in the country;

(b) the details including the losses incurred as a result thereof, State-wise;

(c) whether the Government has conducted any inquiry in this matter;

(d) if so, the outcome thereof and the action taken by the Government against those involved in the racket; and

(e) the measures taken by the Government to curb such incidences in future?

THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) & (b) Yes Madam, during last year i.e. 2014 & current year (upto Jan 2015), a total of 24 cases in respect of illegal routing of international calls have been unearthed incurring a notional loss of Rs 36.65 crores. The Year wise details of individual cases indicating the name of company, action taken, estimated notional loss are enclosed as Annexure-I.

(c) & (d) For all the unearthed setups of illegal routing of international calls, FIRs have been lodged with the concerned Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs), details of which are available in Annexure-I.

(e) Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cells constantly endeavor to monitor, investigate and control such illegal routing of international calls and take action against the persons involved in such illegal activities with the help of law enforcement agencies with a view to curb illegal telephone exchange set ups. Equipments used in the illegal setups are seized by law enforcement agencies and cases have been registered against the offenders. Department of Telecom (DoT) has issued directions/ guidelines from time to time to all licensed Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) for effective monitoring, detection and prevention of such illegal routing. Interactions between TERM Cells & TSPs are held for better awareness and effective monitoring in respect of such illegal routing/setups.