STF arrests 3 including ITI teacher for sharing OTP to Pakistani Intelligence Operatives

The accused fraudulently procured huge numbers of SIMs in other’s name and sold the OTPs to Pakistani Intelligence Operatives and ISI agents

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Bhubaneswar: The State Task Force (STF) of Odisha police conducted a raid and arrested three persons on the charges of selling and sharing OTP with some criminals and anti-national elements.

The three accused persons identified as Pathanisamant Lenka (35), ITI teacher of Nayagarh, Saroj Kumar Nayak (26) and Soumya Pattnaik (19).

The STF officials said that the accused fraudulently procured huge numbers of SIMs in other’s name and sold
the OTPs (linked/generated using the SIMs) to various clients including some Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIO)/ ISI agents in Pakistan as well as in India.

In return they would be paid by some Pakistani agents based in India. They were also in the touch with a female PIO agent who was arrested in an Official secrets Act/ Honey-Trap case in Rajsthan last year.

These OTPs were than used to create various accounts/ Channels on social media like Whatsapp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram etc  and also on online shopping site like Amazon, Flipkart etc. These are also used in opening email accounts.

These social media platforms will be used in various kinds of Anti-India activities like Spying, communication with terrorists, radicalization, running anti-India propaganda, fuelling anti-India/ divisive sentiments on social media, sextortion and Honey-trapping.

As these accounts are registered/linked to Indian mobile numbers, people find them trustworthy. The accounts opened on online shopping platforms are also used to supply items to terrorists, anti-India elements.

Apart from these they were also in business of creating and selling mule accounts through social media groups which are again used in various kinds of crimes.

During the raid, the STF officials seized mobile phones, pre-activated sim cards and laptop etc from their possession. When questioned, the accused could not give any  satisfactory answer regarding sharing of OTPs and other information’s to foreign nationals.

The officials arrested them and forwarded them to the SDJM Court in Bhubaneswar yesterday. The STF have lodged a case on them and investigation has started.

Around 19 costly mobile phones (Including Apple mobile), 47 SIM cards, 61 ATM cards, and 23 SIM covers have been seized.

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