Bhubaneswar: Investigations into the deadly car explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort on November 10, which claimed at least 15 lives and injured over 20 others, have uncovered an unexpected link to Odisha.
Probes revealed that certain SIM cards allegedly used by those involved in the incident were procured from shops in the districts of Jajpur and Bhadrak.
According to sources, a team from Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh police station carried out raids on Saturday in Jajpur and at the Manjuri Road market in neighbouring Bhadrak district and detained two mobile phone shop owners suspected of involvement in an illegal SIM card activation racket. The individuals, identified as Santosh Khandei, who operates a shop at Manjuri Road market, and his associat
e Maheshwar Puntia from the Tarago area, were taken into custody. They were subsequently presented before a local court in Bhadrak and remanded to Delhi Police custody.
Sources further stated that the duo engaged in activating multiple SIM cards using customers’ Aadhaar details when individuals visited their shops for new connections. Customers received only one legitimate SIM, while additional ones were activated covertly and sold on the black market without their knowledge. The accused reportedly enticed unemployed youths from Korei region in Jajpur by offering Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 each to purchase SIM cards, which were then resold at inflated prices to unknown buyers.
It is being alleged these illicitly obtained SIM cards ended up being used for criminal purposes, with several seized from Santosh Khandei directly linked to the ongoing Delhi case registered at Shaheen Bagh police station. Meanwhile, scrutiny of the detainees’ bank accounts also revealed substantial financial transactions.
Delhi Police’s Shaheen Bagh police station, along with the Cyber Cell, is jointly investigating the case to identify other links in the racket.