Wife of undertrial arrested for smuggling SIM cards into prison
The Statesman | 30 March 2025
The Kotwali police arrested a woman on charges of attempting to smuggle multiple unauthorised mobile SIM cards to her husband, an undertrial at the Krishnagar District Correctional Home.
The accused, identified as Sarmina Bibi, hailing from Sagarpara police station area in Murshidabad, was caught red-handed while attempting to deliver the SIM cards concealed within onion peels and food items.
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According to officials, the incident took place last night when Sarmina Bibi entered the correctional home premises. During a routine security check, authorities discovered 13 unauthorised SIM cards cleverly hidden inside the onion peels. She was detained by correctional home officials, who subsequently filed a complaint with the police.
Following the complaint, Kotwali police arrested the woman and produced her before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of the Krishnagar District Judge’s Court on Saturday. A case has been lodged against her under Sections 318, 319, 336, 337, 338, and 340 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) as well as Section 42 of the Indian Telegraph Act.
Additional superintendent of police Meetkumar stated: “We have appealed to the court for her police custody to further investigate the matter. Her husband, Manirul Sheikh, was arrested approximately 40 months ago under an NDPS case by Karimpur police station and is currently facing trial. The woman was attempting to provide him with unauthorised SIM cards to facilitate illegal communication with his associates from within the correctional home.”
Authorities are now probing the possibility of a larger conspiracy, with police officials determined to uncover the motive behind the act. “We will conduct a thorough investigation to ascertain her intentions and determine if others are involved in this smuggling attempt,” added ASP Meetkumar.