Odisha Police Busts SIM Box Racket
Key Arrests and Seizures in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Ranchi
The Odisha police have conducted successful raids, seizing five SIM boxes from Ranchi in connection with a previously busted SIM box racket in Cuttack. A total of 17 SIM boxes and 678 operational SIM cards have been confiscated from Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, and Ranchi.
Bhubaneswar Police Commissioner Sanjeeb Panda stated, “In the SIM box case, our team has returned from Ranchi after conducting the raid. The accused had taken a house on rent and set up 5 SIM boxes with 222 operational SIM cards. Altogether, from Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Ranchi, we have seized 17 SIM boxes and 678 operational SIM cards so far. We have collected Call Detail Record (CDR) details of some SIMs and are analyzing them.”
Raju Mondal, who was earlier arrested and sent into remand for five days, had his remand end on August 22. The police plan to apply for an additional seven days of remand for further investigation. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) have also interrogated Mondal and are assisting in the investigation.
Photographs of the main accused, Ashdur Jamman, a Bangladeshi national and founder of a software company in Dhaka, have been found. Jamman was controlling the SIM box racket from Dhaka.
Earlier, on August 19, Odisha Police unearthed the SIM box racket in Cuttack following raids prompted by information from Raju Mondal. Five operational SIM boxes and 236 SIMs were found in a rented house in Cuttack. These SIM boxes are typically used to mask international calls as local calls, often for cybercrime, terrorism, money laundering, and drug trading.
A special squad under the supervision of DCP Bhubaneswar discovered a SIM box racket operating in Bhubaneswar. Raju Mondal, who rented a house on the periphery of Bhubaneswar, was arrested. Five operational SIM boxes and two standby SIM boxes with 255 active SIMs were seized from the house.
According to Mondal’s interrogation, these SIM boxes were used to divert calls from Pakistan, China, and Middle Eastern countries to India, disguised as local calls. Mondal maintained the SIM boxes under the instruction of Ashdur Jamman and received payments through a Hawala channel.
Doubts Revealed
SIM Box -: A SIM box is a device that holds multiple SIM cards and is used to make phone calls. It can make international calls look like local calls, which is often used for illegal activities.
Racket -: A racket is an illegal scheme or activity. In this case, it refers to the illegal use of SIM boxes to hide international calls.
Bhubaneswar -: Bhubaneswar is the capital city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is one of the places where the police found the illegal SIM boxes.
Cuttack -: Cuttack is a city in Odisha, India. It is another place where the police found the illegal SIM boxes.
Ranchi -: Ranchi is the capital city of the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is also one of the places involved in the SIM box racket.
Odisha Police -: Odisha Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Odisha in India. They are responsible for maintaining law and order in the state.
SIM cards -: SIM cards are small cards used in mobile phones to store information like your phone number and contacts. They are necessary for making calls and using mobile data.
Cybercrime -: Cybercrime refers to illegal activities done using computers or the internet. This can include hacking, stealing information, or using SIM boxes for illegal calls.
Bangladeshi national -: A Bangladeshi national is a person who is a citizen of Bangladesh, a country neighboring India. In this case, the main accused, Ashdur Jamman, is from Bangladesh.
Dhaka -: Dhaka is the capital city of Bangladesh. It is where the main accused, Ashdur Jamman, was controlling the illegal SIM box activities from.
Police Commissioner -: A Police Commissioner is a high-ranking official in the police department. Sanjeeb Panda is the Police Commissioner of Bhubaneswar, who provided information about the case.