Two youths have been apprehended in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district on suspicions of engaging in espionage for Pakistan. The arrests were made by the Special Task Force (STF) of the West Bengal Police, who seized multiple mobile phones and SIM cards from the suspects. One of the detainees, Juhab Sheikh, was taken into custody earlier due to suspicious activities that hinted at connections with individuals in Pakistan.
Following leads from Juhab Sheikh’s interrogation, another individual named Suman Sheikh was arrested in Berhampore, Murshidabad. Both individuals were reportedly involved in the illicit trade of selling SIM cards. The accused allegedly obtained SIM cards using others’ identity documents and utilized these cards to create WhatsApp accounts, sharing generated one-time passwords (OTPs) with their handlers in Pakistan.
Investigators believe that the suspects shared OTPs on multiple occasions, receiving significant payments in return, which were traced to their bank accounts. Authorities are concerned that the created accounts might have been exploited by Pakistan-based operatives to gather intelligence within India. The STF cyber experts played a crucial role in uncovering and monitoring the suspects’ activities.
Law enforcement agencies are examining potential connections of the arrested individuals with international terror groups. Previous cases of OTP diversion and illegal SIM card usage have been flagged by central intelligence agencies across the country. The investigation is ongoing to ascertain if sensitive data was compromised through these accounts and if there are more individuals involved in the network.
