By IANS,
Kolkata : Two people, including a Kashmiri, have been arrested by Kolkata Police for dealing in illegal SIM cards, one of which was used by the terrorists behind last week’s Mumbai strikes, police said Saturday.
“After obtaining a Kolkata SIM card from one of the Mumbai attack sites, Mumbai Police alerted us and in course of investigations we arrested Tausif Rehman, 26, from Howrah Station and Mukhtar Ahmed, 35, from New Delhi Friday,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (detective department) Jawed Shamim told reporters at city police headquarters here Saturday.
Th two were nabbed in a joint operation of the Kolkata police’s Detective Department and the Special Task Force (STF).
Rehman, a resident of Tiljala area in eastern Kolkata, worked as a junior administrative staff in a local newspaper office a few years ago. He currently works for a travel agency.
Ahmed is said to be a resident of Rehanbari in Srinagar. He used to sell shawls in Kolkata, but had been working as an auto-rickshaw driver for the last one-and-a-half years, police said.
“We have found one of the 22 SIM cards Rehman sold to Ahmed – the one recovered from a Mumbai attack site,” Shamim said.
He, however, did not divulge the exact location where the SIM card was found in Mumbai.
“All the 22 SIM cards were obtained fraudulently by Rehman. He used the voter identity card of his dead relative Asraf Numan to buy the cards from various local outlets in Kolkata, including some shops at Park Circus, Park Street, Beck Bagan and Beniapukur,” Shamim said.
He added that Rehman had sold these cards to Ahmed a few months back.
“We are investigating if Rehman sold the SIM cards merely for pecuniary reasons or if he had links with the terrorists. He has already admitted that he sold the cards for Rs.500 each. We are also trying to find what relation Ahmed had with the terrorists.
“We are also investigating if any calls were made from the Kolkata SIM by the terrorists. The Mumbai police will be coming to Kolkata soon to question the duo. We will extend all possible help to them,” Shamim added.
Rehman and Ahmed have been charged under Sections 419, 420, 468, 471 and 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).