Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has widened its probe into the alleged nexus between police personnel and operators of a fake call centre busted in Nashik's Igatpuri in August 2025. Investigators are examining an alleged covert communication network built around proxy SIM cards issued in the names of unsuspecting citizens.
Agency officials have recorded statements of several individuals whose identity documents were exploited to procure these 'khacha' SIM cards. Investigators suspect these temporary connections were distributed among police personnel under the scanner to maintain untraceable communication with key operators, including accused Vishal Yadav and absconding mastermind Sandeep Singh.
The proxy network coordinated protection arrangements, facilitated protection money collection, and concealed identities by avoiding official or personal mobile numbers. The system ensured that no direct digital footprint or Call Detail Record (CDR) linkage could connect the syndicate to the police during a raid. The CBI is now mapping the roles of at least seven police personnel. Several used SIM cards are now inactive and suspected to have been destroyed.
Investigators are using digital evidence from the August 2025 raid to reconstruct operations. While the Igatpuri unit ran for only 48 hours, officials are tracing its previous base in Palghar, which operated for nearly three years before moving part of its infrastructure to Nashik in June 2025. Some police personnel posted in Palghar during that period later retired, took medical leave, or transferred to other Maharashtra districts.
Cybercriminals allegedly procured these SIM cards using identity documents of economically vulnerable individuals, including daily wage workers and tribal communities, through inducements like promises of government benefits or small payments. The communication system operated in layers. While the call centre used VoIP services for overseas victims, a second "recovery line" for protection money utilised keypad phones fitted with proxy SIM cards.
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