Bengaluru, Jun 9: In a joint operation, the Anti-Terror Cell of Bengaluru Police and Military Intelligence have arrested two men who ran an illegal phone exchange, converting international calls to local calls, causing huge revenue loss and posing a threat to national security, police said.

Thirty two SIM box devices, which can use 960 SIM cards at a time, were seized from them, they said.

Ibrahim Pullatti (36), hailing from Malappuram in Kerala and Gautam B Vishwanathan (27) from Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, had placed the 32 devices at six areas of the city to carry out their illegal activities, police said in a statement.

"Their activities not only caused revenue loss to the government, but also posed a serious security threat to the nation," the statement said.

It did not specify when the duo were arrested.

Police have not ruled out the possibility of the involvement of many others in the racket and have begun a probe.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant announced a reward of Rs 30,000 to the team which nabbed the two men.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Mumbai (PTI): Aviation watchdog DGCA on Friday eased the flight duty norms by allowing substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period amid massive operational disruptions at IndiGo, according to sources.

As per the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, "no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest", which means that weekly rest period and leaves are to be treated separately. The clause was part of efforts to address fatigue issues among the pilots.

Citing IndiGo flight disruptions, sources told PTI that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to withdraw the provision 'no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest' from the FDTL norms.

ALSO READ: 49 Indigo flights likely to be cancelled from Hyderabad

"In view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations, it has been considered necessary to review the said provision," DGCA said in a communication dated December 5.

The gaps in planning ahead of the implementation of the revised FDTL, the second phase of which came into force from November 1, have resulted in crew shortage at IndiGo and is one of the key reasons for the current disruptions.