Sharing OTPs with Pak intelligence operatives: STF to bring 3 arrested accused on remand

A day after busting a major racket involving procuring of pre-activated SIM cards and alleged sharing of one-time passwords (OTP) with Pakistani intelligence operatives, the Special Task Force (STF) is likely to take three arrested accused on remand to ascertain if more persons are involved in the scam.

The three accused- Pathanisamant Lenka, Saroj Kumar Nayak and Soumya Pattanaik-will be quizzed by a team of STF. The trio was nabbed from Nayagarh and Jajpur districts, respectively.

Moreover, the STF has got some clues regarding the links of accused Pathanisamant Lenka, who worked as a teacher in an Industrial Training Institute (ITI), with an ISI agent who was arrested from Siligudi in West Bengal in 2022.

The STF has already contacted the Siligudi Police to collect more information in this connection.

Also Read: STF arrests 3 for selling, sharing OTP to Pakistani Intelligence Operatives, ISI agents

Earlier on Sunday, the STF officials informed that the accused procured huge numbers of pre-activated SIM cards in the name of others and used them to sell the OTPs (linked/generated using the SIMs) to various clients including some Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIO)/ ISI agents in Pakistan as well as in India.

The OTPs were used to create various accounts/ Channels on social media like Whatsapp, Telegram, Facebook, and Instagram and also on e-commerce sites like Amazon and Flipkart, etc. These were also used in opening email accounts. Most thought that these accounts are owned by an Indian but actually were being operated from Pakistan.