Odisha: Police bust SIM box racket operated by Bangladeshi

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Police claimed to have busted a SIM box racket operated from Bhubaneswar by a Bangladeshi to reroute international calls to Pakistan, China and West Asia, a senior officer said.

Raju Mandal, who hails from West Bengal, has been arrested and over 1,000 SIM cards mostly pre-activated in the neighbouring state, routers and other equipment have been seized from a house in the Odisha capital.

"Mandal used to run the show on behalf of a Bangladesh national identified as Asadur Jaman from a leased property in Bhubaneswar, ensuring the functionality of UPS, internet and other services," Commissioner of Police of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate, Sanjeeb Panda said on Saturday.

"Preliminary interrogation of Mandal revealed that the SIM boxes were used to reroute international calls to Pakistan, China, and the Middle East. Though Mandal was staying in West Bengal, he used to visit the house in Bhubaneswar to address any SIM issue and to perform maintenance and repairs," he said.

Panda said that SIM boxes are used to hide original phone numbers and are often employed for cybercrime, hate speech, terrorist acts, extortion, and other illegal activities, posing challenges for law enforcement agencies.

"Bangladesh national Asadur Jaman entered India in October, 2023 through Agartala and visited Bhubaneswar. He went back to Bangladesh in December that year. During his stay, he made payments to Mandal and is believed to have established two more SIM boxes, which are expected to be dismantled soon," he added.

Panda said the police are contemplating taking help from any national investigating agency and also Interpol as the prime accused in the case is a Bangladesh national.