Bhubaneswar: In a significant development, the Commissionerate Police team from Bhubaneswar, which reached Ranchi on Tuesday, uncovered five additional SIM boxes from a residential building located in the Maulana Azad Colony of the city.
According to sources, the discovery was made during a search operation conducted by the Special Squad of the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate Police, acting on information provided by the accused, Raju Mandal.
Mandal, currently in police custody, revealed that the SIM boxes had been installed by his Bangladeshi handler and the mastermind of the operation, Asadur Zaman, during a visit to Ranchi. The SIM boxes were found on the third floor of a building situated in a densely populated area. Authorities are investigating whether the owner of the house was aware of the illegal installations on their property, the sources added.
The operation is part of an ongoing investigation led by the Odisha police in coordination with their counterparts in Jharkhand. The probe has intensified following the recovery of five SIM boxes and several hundred SIM cards from the location in Ranchi.
With this latest seizure, the total number of SIM boxes recovered in the case has risen to 17—seven from Bhubaneswar, five from Cuttack, and five from Ranchi. The investigation continues as law enforcement officials question Mandal regarding other possible locations where he and Asadur Zaman may have installed similar devices.
The Commissionerate Police is likely to seek assistance from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Interpol to further explore the international dimensions of this illegal racket, the sources further said.
