SIM box racket: NIA to grill accused Raju Mandal after set up busted in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Ranchi

Days, after three SIM box setups were busted in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Ranchi, a team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday, arrived in Odisha to further intensify the probe. A member of NIA landed in Bhubaneswar to investigate the links of the prime accused Raju Mandal with the Bangladeshi handler Asadur Jaman.

Commissionerate Police had earlier sought the assistance of NIA and Interpol to probe the link of any terrorist activities by Raju and Asadur. Raju is currently in Jharkhand as he was taken by the Commissionerate Police to bust a third SIM box racket in Ranchi. NIA is most likely to take Raju Mandal on a five-day remand for interrogation into his terror link and other aspects including cyber fraud.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that a fourth SIM box has allegedly been set up in West Bengal.

As per reports, the SIM boxes were used to make international calls to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, and other countries. So, the Commissionerate Police suspects the two to have terrorist links. The investigation will be further intensified by NIA, reports said.

Also Read | SIM Box Racket: Commissionerate Police Busts Another Device in Jharkhand; Terror Link Under Scanner

NIA will begin its primary investigation in Odisha, by visiting both places in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack where Raju Mandal operated the SIM boxes. NIA is looking into all aspects and whether Raju was into terrorist activities, was he sharing India’s confidential information with terrorists in other countries, or was he in contact with agents of other countries?