The Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha has arrested a key aide who supplied pre-activated SIM cards and other digital services to the accused involved in the Mangaluru autorickshaw blast in November last year. The accused, Pritam Kar, hails from Jajpur district and has been in contact with two suspected ISI agents in Ranchi and Patna. The STF found that Kar met the two ISI agents multiple times in other states and had recently received Rs 1.5 lakh from them for selling pre-activated SIMs, mule bank accounts, and digital wallets under fictitious names. Kar, who runs a small stationery shop in Jajpur, charged up to Rs 1,000 per SIM and up to Rs 30,000 per mule account.
The STF caught Kar by tapping into his WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram groups used to contact his clients. Kar was also the admin of a WhatsApp group related to bank accounts and a member of several groups where OTPs are allegedly shared or sold. The STF has informed the Karnataka police and the National Investigation Agency about Kar’s arrest. Pathanisamant Lenka, a teacher, and his two associates, Saroj Nayak and Soumya Pattnaik, were also arrested by the STF on May 14 for procuring banned pre-activated SIMs using forged documents. Their associate Pradyumna Kumar Sahoo, who used to work in a private telecom company, was arrested on Thursday.
The STF is investigating the alleged links of an Odisha gang with some Pakistani intelligence agents. The gang is believed to be involved in providing digital services to terrorist groups in exchange for money. The STF suspects that the Pakistani intelligence agents may be involved in funding local terror activities. The STF is taking all necessary measures to neutralize such activities and prevent any harm to the nation’s security.
