Bhubaneswar: Asadur Zaman, the alleged mastermind of the SIM box set racket in Odisha, was operating those from Bangladesh using smart switch, Twin City Commissioner of Police (CP) Sanjeeb Panda informed on Thursday.
“We have been able to get details and photographs of Asadur, who studied fashion and technology. He had founded a software company, Icon Technology, in Dhaka and was remotely operating the SIM box centres at Bhubaneswar and Ranchi from there. The NIA has interrogated Raju Mandal and he may be questioned further. The DoT has also grilled him. We will seek permission to take Mandal on remand for 7 more days,” Panda said.
Asadur was the handler of Mandal, a resident of West Bengal arrested on August 17 with over 1,000 pre-activated SIM cards along with routers and other equipment from a house in Bhubaneswar. A day later, a local court here granted Odisha Police five-day remand of Mandal. Odisha police had also sought assistance from the NIA and Interpol to probe any potential terrorist connections between Mandal and Asadur.
The CP further said that 17 SIM boxes have been seized from Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Ranchi. “Total 678 operational SIMs, and three internet connections have been found. We will collect more information about Asadur, his address in Bangladesh and his trips to Odisha where he spent two months after entering India from Agartala checkpoint. Following which, we will write to Interpol through the CBI for his arrest,” the CP said.
Mandal had also taken a house on rent last May in Ranchi but left after setting up the SIM cards. “Apart from the five SIM boxes, 219 active SIM cards and 40 inactive ones were also found,” he added.
A total of 12 SIM boxes, 481 SIM cards, an extra 810 stand-by SIM cards were seized during the raids in both Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. The SIM boxes were allegedly used to make international calls to countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkey, raising suspicions of terrorist involvement.
Sources said that the NIA may also take Mandal on a five-day remand to investigate his possible terror links and involvement in cyber fraud. It has already visited locations in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack where he allegedly operated the SIM boxes. The agency is examining whetherhe was involved in terrorist activities or shared confidential Indian information with foreign entities.