Illegal telephone exchange used for spying busted in Karnataka
New Delhi, Jun 21: An illegal telephone exchange that allegedly converted foreign calls into local ones to aid spying activities in the country has been busted by the military intelligence and Bengaluru Police, officials said on Tuesday.
A 41-year-old man hailing from Kerala's Wayanad district, identified as Sharafudeen, has been detained during the joint operation by the two agencies.
The man is alleged to have placed several mobile SIM cards into electronic devices at four locations in Bagalgunte main road area in the Karnataka capital.
Officials said, the illegal activity "defrauded" the telecom department and posed a threat to the security of the country.
The agencies got a whiff after they found that some Pakistan-based operatives were using the exchange to source information from some Indian defence installations.
"Preliminary investigations have revealed that the man, who has been detained, used 58 electronic devices to install 2,144 SIM cards at locations in Bhuvaneswari Nagar, Chikkasandra and Siddheshwar layout."
"The accused unauthorisedly converted international (ISD) phone calls into local calls," a senior official said.
The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Bengaluru Police has registered a case to probe further, he said.
The operation was jointly conducted by CCB unit officials and those from the Military Intelligence, southern command in Bengaluru.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
