Deblina Chakraborty, 24, who was recently arrested by the Kolkata Police, has a unique ‘identity’. In fact, she apparently has several – with nearly 800 SIM cards in her name. According to the police, she changed her addresses frequently and used different spellings and fake names. She is part of a SIM card racket in the state in connection with with more than ten people have been arrested, police said. The racket members duped people of their documents and generated SIM cards that were sold at inflated rates, officers said.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rupesh Kumar told The Indian Express that the arrested individuals were exploiting Point of Sale (POS) terminals of major telecom operators to activate “fictitious” SIM cards. These SIMs were then sold to fraudsters across the country and abroad for cybercrimes. Chakraborty was under the scanner of multiple agencies, with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) detailing the crimes she was involved in.
“These arrested individuals are involved in unauthorised and fraudulent use of Point of Sale (POS) terminals that were utilised to activate fictitious SIM cards,” said Rupesh Kumar.
“Deblina Chakroborty is the highest provider of such fake SIMs in West Bengal as per a list we were given. She was blacklisted. We have found that 785 SIM cards were issued in her name before she was blacklisted. These were used in many kinds of cyber crime. In fact, her Aadhaar card was blacklisted too,” a senior Kolkata Police officer told The Indian Express.
The Kolkata Police said it dismantled a large-scale SIM card racket operating across the city and its suburbs, arresting several individuals and seizing thousands of illegally obtained SIM cards and biometric devices. The investigation, which began in February, has revealed a sophisticated network involved in fraudulently acquiring and distributing SIM cards for cybercrimes.
At the centre of the operation is 24-year-old Deblina Chakraborty, identified by authorities as the “highest provider of fake SIMs” in West Bengal. Chakraborty, along with her husband Anirban Saha, 28, and Ripan Saha, 22, were among the first to be arrested on February 24th during a raid in Baguihati. Police recovered hundreds of SIM cards, mobile phones, and biometric authentication machines post their arrests.
2,000 fake SIMs seized in a month
In the past month, the Kolkata Police have seized more than 2,000 fake SIM cards.
SIM cards Chakraborty allegedly sold were used to carry out more than 200 cybercrimes including digital arrest, loan fraud and hacking. Some of the cyber crimes were committed using these SIMs from countries such as Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar, police said.
According to the police, Chakraborty would collect thumb impressions from customers by pretending that verification attempts had failed while actually processing successful verifications at the service providers’ end and then acquiring multiple pre-activated SIM cards.
The Kolkata Police registered a case under section 66C and 66D of Information and Technology Act and under sections of 61 (2) (Criminal Conspiracy), 319 (2) (Cheat by personation), 318 (4) (fraudulently or dishonestly inducing the person), 336 (2) (forgery) , 336 (3) (Forgery), 338 (whoever forges a document), 340 (2) (Forged document or electronic record) of the BNS. Three persons were booked in this case, including Chakraborty.
When The Indian Express visited Samar Dey Sarani – supposedly Chakraborty’s address – it emerged that there was no building in the vicinity that local resiendtss could identify as “New Biswas Villa.”
“Yes… Police came and picked up three people from here but it is difficult to identify people by name since most of the houses here are newly or under construction and most are tenants who stay here for days or few months only. rent. We don’t know who they were,” said a shopkeeper, who has owned a shop in the area for 15 years.
Pramoth Nath Mallick, Krishnapur (Barwaritala) claimed that Kolkata Police had picked up a couple, who were his tenants, in a fake SIM card case. “I had asked them (the couple) to give me their Aadhaar cards but they claimed that these were at their native place and they will soon ask someone to courier them,” he said. On February 24, another person Sobhan Debnath, 27, of Habra, Barasat was arrested from Beliaghata. The police had recovered eight mobile phones, five biometric authentication machines and 237 SIM cards from him.
Series of raids
The initial arrests led to a series of subsequent raids across Beliaghata, Topsia, Tiljala, Newtown, Parnasree and other areas. On February 25, Sajal Mondal, 33, Arijit Roy, 33, MD. Reza, 22, and Rajesh Mahato, 28, were apprehended, along with the seizure of hundreds of SIM cards and biometric devices. Notably, a biometric device with fingerprint impressions embedded in glue was recovered, indicating the use of fraudulent methods to obtain data.
On March 3rd, Suvendu Gayen, 30, a POS operator, was arrested in Tiljala for activating SIM cards using customers’ credentials. Following Gayen’s information, Jitendra Agarwal, 43, a fake SIM dealer, was also arrested with active SIM cards, fingerprint scanners, and cash.
“We conducted a series of raids in the city and suburbs on and arrested 8 persons. We recovered a total 729 SIM cards – activated and raw, nine biometric authentication machines and other things. Further, based on our own inputs and information elicited from the accused in custody, police conducted more raids March 3rd in the Tiljala PS area. During the raid, one Suvendu Gayen, 30, of Picnic Garden Road, was arrested Accused Suvendu Gayen is a POS operator. He is involved in activating SIM cards using unsuspecting customers’ credentials and selling them to the fraudsters at a premium price,” said a senior police official.
Following the lead that the police got from Suvendu Gayen, they set a trap for a fake SIM dealer who was to take delivery of such SIMs from Gayen. He was intercepted near a mall and questioned along Gayen. Upon his involvement becoming clear, the accused Jitendra Agarwal, 43, of Bidhan Sarani (under the jurisdiction of Girish Park Police Station) was arrested on March 3.
The most recent raid, on March 5 in the Parnasree area, resulted in the arrest of Tanmoy Sarkar, 34, and Dinesh Jana, 41, with the seizure of more SIM cards, biometric devices, and cash. During this raid 1,222 activated and raw SIM cards of various telecom service providers.
Biometric authentication device among seized items
“It is worth noting that the seized items included a biometric authentication device, fitted with some glue-like material with fingerprint impression embossed on it. This was ostensibly used to fraudulently obtain the fingerprint-based Know Your Customer (KYC) data of the unsuspecting individuals, which was/has the potential to be used for issuance of unauthorized SIM cards,” said an official.
The arrested individuals were involved in the exploitation of the Point of Sale (POS) terminals belonging to major service providers. The Kolkata Police have registered a suo motu case against some POS operators dealing in fake SIM cards. “Overall, we have seized thousands of SIM cards, numerous biometric authentication machines, and significant amounts of cash. The investigation has revealed a widespread network involved in the unauthorized activation and distribution of SIM cards, facilitating various cybercrimes,” said an official.
Cyber expert and lawyer Bivas Chatterjee told The Indian Express, “99 percent of the fake SIM cards are issued in the name of people who are not even aware of this. In post-paid connections, still some rules are followed but in case of prepaid SIMs, fake SIMs are often issued easily.”