“We are investigating ten SIM cards. Every militant we capture has a mobile phone. There is every likelihood that the SIM card was procured by the militants from Airtel on a fake name of an Army man. It is a serious matter and we are investigating all possibilities,’’ Senior Superintendent of Police, Baramulla, Viplav Kumar said.

Police said they are also looking at tightening safeguards given the exponential increase of cellphone connections in the Valley — there are an estimated 12 lakh post-paid subscribers alone.

A Bharti Airtel spokesperson insisted that the firm strictly follows regulations. “We are fully committed to the subscriber verification process. We have always complied with the rules and regulations that govern the industry and will continue to do so,’’ the spokesperson said.

Airtel officials said they issue a SIM card — both pre-paid and post-paid — only after the subscriber complies with all requisite formalities: furnishing details of the subscriber, a recent photograph and proof of residence. Subsequently the field staff conduct physical verification besides vetting the documents. Sources said that if the subscriber is a Defence personnel, the connection is issued only after he furnishes the authority letter of the Commanding officer of his unit.

Before the Baramulla blast, the police had successfully detected a cell-phone-triggered car bomb in Srinagar. This had led to blanket freezing of mobile signals across Srinagar on the eve of Independence Day.