Bhubaneswar: In a significant verdict, a court in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday convicted seven persons for procuring SIM cards with fake names and sharing of sensitive information with a suspected Pakistani agent through OTP-based fraud.
The court of Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) in Bhubaneswar sentenced the convicts, including five from Odisha, to imprisonment for three years and slapped a penalty of Rs 32,000 on each of them.
The convicts have been identified as Pritam Kar and Soumya Ranjan Pattanaik of Jajpur; Pathani Samanta Lenka, Saroj Kumar Nayak and Pradyumna Sahu of Nayagarh; Abhijit Sanjay of Pune and Iqbal Hussain of Guwahati.
According to the case records, the Special Task Force (STF) of the Odisha Police had arrested the seven persons on charges of procuring SIM cards from Odisha with fake names and sharing the OTPs with intelligence operatives in Pakistan.
It was found during the probe that the two accused persons from outside Odisha played a key role in coordinating with a Pakistani agent, allegedly conspiring to carry out the illegal network.
Investigation showed that the convicts were in touch with Pakistani agents Danish Ali and Abdul Hamid. The Odisha Police had sought the help of INTERPOL in connection with the case.
Despite repeated attempts, the authorities in Pakistan did not share any information with regard to the case with Odisha Police
The court pronounced the verdict on the basis of 56 documentary records and testimonies from 11 witnesses, which established the involvement of the accused in facilitating illegal activities. The case revolves around the misuse of Indian SIM cards, where OTPs were shared with foreign handlers, enabling access and communication for unlawful operations.
