Powai Police Arrest SIM Dealer For Supplying Fraudsters With Unauthorised SIM Cards In Admission Scam

Mumbai: The Powai police have arrested a SIM gallery sales executive, the 11th accused in a fake engineering admission fraud case registered on July 17, for allegedly supplying fraudsters with SIM cards activated without customers’ knowledge.

The latest accused has been identified as Abu Saif, 21, a resident of Versova who worked at a SIM gallery in the western suburbs. Police alleged that he supplied at least 300 SIM cards in 2026 without proper documentation and charged ₹1,000 to ₹2,000 per card.

Sub-inspector Ramchandra Pinjarkar identified 23 SIM cards that were allegedly issued without proper Know Your Customer (KYC) verification. Saif is currently in jail and has applied for bail.

SIM Details Allegedly Misused For Fraud

According to police, Saif allegedly misused details of customers who visited the gallery for replacing damaged SIM cards or obtaining new connections.

Investigators alleged that he took customers’ photographs on the pretext of completing KYC formalities and used their details to activate additional SIM cards with fake addresses without their knowledge.

These SIM cards were allegedly used by fraudsters involved in a fake engineering admission racket.

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Police Track Racket Through Digital Evidence

DCP (West Zone-3) Datta Nalawade said the detection team tracked the racket for a month by analysing bank ATM transactions, petrol pump transactions and cash collected from victims.

A court has also ordered a bank to transfer ₹16.5 lakh to a Powai resident who was allegedly duped on the promise of securing her son’s admission to IIIT Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, alleged mastermind Yuvraj Sharma, 32, and nine others were granted bail on a cash security of ₹25,000 each and released from Taloja jail on Wednesday.

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