Bengaluru: Two held for running illegal telephone exchange; links to terror outfits likely

Bengaluru Police along with the joint effort of the Military Intelligence Unit of Southern Command of the Army and Anti Terrorism Cell (ATC) arrested two men who were illegally converting international calls into locals calls. The joint operation also led to the information of Pakistan Intelligence's involvement in the operation to collect data on India's military value.

Illegal Telephonic Exchange Operation

The Bengaluru Police informed that the two accused had created six illegal exchanges in the BTM Layout area of Bangalore, by installing several mobile SIM cards into electronic devices. Their setup defrauded the telecommunication network which eventually put the country's security at stake. A preliminary investigation conducted by the police found out that 30 electronic devices were used to install 32 SIM cards in six locations of the BTM Layout. The accused used over 900 mobile SIM cards in their fraudulent operation. 

A case has been registered by the Bengaluru City Police anti-terrorism cell with the cybercrime department. The team will reportedly carry out further investigation to find about their accomplices. The investigation team was led by ACP BR Venugopal and Police Commissioner Bharat. A reward amount of Rs. 30,000 has been announced by the Police Commissioner for the investigative team.

Telephone exchange, a rising security threat

Conversion of international calls to local calls on illegal terms poses a huge security threat on the country and cases of such breach of existing security norms are reported very often. One such event was reported one week earlier in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad. A joint operation run by UP Police and officers of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) arrested a group of people working on unauthorized terms to transfer calls. The team also seized a large number of laptops, SIM cards, SIM boxes, and mobile phones. The mission was a follow to Noida's illegal telephone exchange case, where the UP police arrested Owais Alam and collected information about the Moradabad setup from him.

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