Forward SMS to punish pesky marketers: Trai

August 4, 2012

sms_caseNew Delhi, August 4: Tired of pesky text messages? Forwarding it to a designated number is all it will take to initiate action against the telemarketer, according to a proposal by the telecom regulator on Friday, which included a hefty penalty on unregistered telemarketers as well.

In a consultation paper, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has suggested that unregistered telemarketers sending unsolicited commercial communication be charged Rs 500 per message. After 10 such instances, the marketer's phone connection will be disconnected.

All that mobile users are required to do is forward the unwanted message to a dedicated number - 1909 - and action will be initiated against the errant SMS sender. Web and email-based complaint registration is also on the anvil.

The plan is to get access providers to put in place a system that blocks the delivery of unsolicited SMSs that carry similar signatures and come from a number that sends more than a specified number of messages every hour. Even banks or travel portals that send messages related to transactions would now have to hire registered telemarketers, the regulator suggested.

In recent months, mobile users have seen a resurgence in messages from real estate agents, travel agents and even those offering to send bulk SMSs, which Trai said came from unregistered telemarketers who used 10-digit numbers.

One of the reasons behind the surge, a senior officer in the regulator agency said, was the high court order lifting the ceiling of 200 text messages a day, a decision which the regulator has decided to appeal against in the Supreme Court. "While everyone has a right to free speech, no one has a right to encroach upon anyone's privacy and time," the official said.

Although the regulator and the government have moved from a system of Do-Not Call register a few years ago, it was revamped last September with mobile users given the option to register to fully block or partially block pesky messages. Besides, only registered telemarketers could call.

While the messages did stop, they resumed within a few days as marketers discovered a loophole and started routing messages from other countries. The Trai official, however, said the regulator had plugged the gap, referred to as modem farming, as it had asked service providers to scrub bulk messages coming from foreign shores.

Through the fresh consultation paper, which may be accepted in its present form after receiving comments, the regulator is trying to focus its attention on domestic source of the pesky messages.


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News Network
May 28,2020

New Delhi, May 28: The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police will file 12 chargesheets against 536 Tablighi Jamaat members from three countries, officials said on Thursday.

Till now, the police has already filed chargesheets against 374 foreigners from 32 countries.

The officials said the charges against the Tablighi Jamaat members pertain to violation of visa rules, government guidelines regarding the Epidemic Disease Act and acting negligently in a way that was likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life.

The Tablighi Jamaat, a religious organisation in Nizamuddin in South Delhi, had allegedly organised a congregation in March in violation of mass gatherings.

The Tablighi Jamaat’s Nizamuddin Markaz (centre) had become a coroavirus hotspot in the national capital.

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News Network
February 29,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 29: Kerala Excise department has organized a Tik-Tok competition as part of its drug addiction-free mission.

The contest will be on the effects of drug addiction on people and society. The winner goes will go home with an I-Pad as a prize.

The competition is being organised as part of the Department's intensive campaign titled "Tomorrow's Kerala, Drug and Addiction-free Kerala".

"Those taking part should post the video from their profile with the hashtag #vimukthikerala. Each contestant can post more than one video. They can challenge friends with #vimukthichallenge. The last date of receiving them is March 5," said the spokesperson of the Excise Department.

The number of likes a video gets, its theme and presentation will be the criteria on which the video will be judged.

"As soon as a video is posted on Tik-Tok, it should also be sent on the WhatsApp number 9072588222," added the spokesperson of the Excise Department.

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Agencies
February 18,2020

Mumbai, Feb 18: A group of citizens on Tuesday demanded a thorough inquiry into the death of special CBI judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya in 2014.

The group has written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, seeking a time-bound probe into the death of Loya.

Loya, who was hearing the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case of Gujarat, died of a cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter.

Social activist Ashok Pai, addressing a press conference on behalf of the group, also demanded proper compensation for the judge's family, saying he was on an "official" tour.

Pai said on Tuesday he met NCP president Sharad Pawar, whose party is a key constituent of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, and raised these demands with him.

Pawar assured to look into the demands, he said at the press conference at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh.

"We have handed over a letter to Maharashtra Assembly speaker Nana Patole and dispatched a copy of the letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray (seeking a probe into Loya's death)," Pai said.

As the matter relates to "mysterious" death of a sitting judge of the CBI, all facts about it must be made public after a detailed and time-bound probe, Pai said.

The Loya death case had reached the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court had held that Loya had died of "natural causes" and had rejected PILs seeking an SIT probe into the death, questioning their motive.

The SC had held that petitions were moved by political rivals to settle scores which was a serious attempt to scandalise the judiciary and obstruct the course of justice through a "frontal attack" on its independence.

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