Provided SIMs to suspected terror operatives
Exposing major loopholes in acquiring a mobile SIM card in the city, the crime branch of the Delhi police on Monday claimed to have arrested a Delhi resident in possession of at least a thousand fake IDs and as many photographs through which he made available SIM cards not only to local criminals but suspected terror operatives as well, said sources. This despite the strict anti-terror measures promised by the government in the aftermath of the Mumbai 26/11 attacks, especially pertaining to extensive use of mobile phones.
Admitting that the arrested man, identified as Mohit Gupta, 33, posed a national security threat by making these SIM cards available for '500 to '700 without any verification or hindrance to anyone, a senior Delhi police official said, “His actions came to the fore during the investigation of the espionage case in which five persons were arrested for providing secret and confidential information to Pakistan-based agencies, primarily Inter-Services Intelligence,” adding, “It was learnt that one of the arrested PIOs (Pakistan intelligence operative) was using a Delhi Vodafone number from the Indo-Pak border to contact his agents in India. The number was issued from Delhi on a fake ID.”
Sources added that what led to Mohit’s arrest was the interrogation of another accused in the chain, Ankush Khandelwal, from whom 205 pre-activated SIM cards were recovered. “It was a startling revelation which led us to Mohit, who ran M/s Connection Planet from east Delhi’s Shakurpur,” said the sources, adding, “He was caught preparing fake IDs for anyone even without any residence proof. Apart from more than a thousand scanned copies of fake IDs, blank customer acquisition forms were recovered from his personal laptop.”
“He would use these fake IDs to get SIM cards activated and then sold the pre-activated SIMs without asking the purchaser for any identification documents,” said the source, adding, “Till now it is suspected that he sold at least half a dozen SIM cards to suspects involved in anti-national activities, a number which could rise as the probe advances.”
A senior official privy to the probe added: “Given the magnitude of the nexus and the way it is blatantly thriving, we decided to bring our concerns to the notice of the top brass and have urged them to take up the matter with the ministry of home affairs.”
