Assam Police busts fake SIM racket with Pak links, arrest 7

Guwahati: In a crackdown amid simmering tensions between India and Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Assam Police, acting on Army intelligence, arrested seven people and busted a racket using fake SIM cards for cybercrimes and anti-national activities. These SIM cards, sourced from Assam, Rajasthan, and Telangana, were allegedly used to share sensitive information with Pakistani agents.

The seven people have been arrested since last Friday, and 14 others are under interrogation.

During a press conference on Saturday, Assam DGP Harmeet Singh said, "We got the first input from Gajraj Military Intelligence that they stumbled on a number of people who were sending OTPs to people in Pakistan to be used to set up accounts with Indian WhatsApp numbers." After technical analysis for days, Assam's Special Task Force (STF) registered a case last Wednesday and launched "Operation Ghost SIM".

"As part of that operation, police teams were dispatched to Hyderabad in Telangana, Bharatpur and Alwar in Rajasthan, besides Assam's Dhubri and Morigaon. Since Friday afternoon, seven people were arrested, some in Bharatpur and Alwar and one at Guwahati airport," he added.

"These SIM cards, obtained fraudulently using others' identities, were not only used in cybercrimes but also anti-national activities. There is clear evidence that some of these numbers have been shared and used by anti-national and inimical elements to use WhatsApp accounts appearing to be India-based," the DGP added.

The operation was developed through collaboration between Assam's special branch and STF, with intelligence shared by the Army's Gajraj unit. Strategic deliberations led to coordinated raids across five districts in three states.

Those arrested include Saddik (47), Arif Khan (20), Sajid (21), Akeek (25), Arsad Khan (34), Mofijul Islam (19), and Jakariya Ahmad (24). Saddik, Arif Khan, and Sajid are residents of Rajasthan's Bharatpur and Alwar, respectively, and they were arrested from there.

Akeek, who also hails from Bharatpur in Rajasthan, was arrested at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati, and Arsad, who hails from Bharatpur in Rajasthan, was arrested at New Delhi airport.

Mofijul, who is a resident of Assam's Dhubri district, was arrested from Sangareddy district in Telangana, and Jakariya of Assam's Bilasipara.

Charges of ‘criminal conspiracy' and ‘waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging of war against the govt of India' under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), besides different charges under the "Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967" and "IT Act," have been slapped against them.