Three more held in connection with illegal telephone exchanges in Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Jun 10: Two people, who helped the kingpin Ibrahim obtain hundreds of SIM cards using the fingerprints of innocent people, and a 'Hawala' operator have been arrested in connection with the illegal telephone exchanges in the city, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said on Thursday.
With this arrest, five people have been arrested in connection with the case including Ibrahim and the exchange operator Gautham.
The Bengaluru police on Wednesday said that its anti-terror cell coordinated with the Military Intelligence and unearthed six illegal telephone exchanges where 30 SIM boxes with 960 SIM cards were used.
Ibrahim Pullatti, hailing from Malappuram in Kerala, and Gautham B Vishwanathan from Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, had placed the SIM boxes at six areas of the city to carry out their illegal activities, police said.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Pant said two people, one from Bengaluru and another from Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, have been arrested.
The third man arrested in connection with the case hails from Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka.
They had helped Ibrahim obtain a large number of SIM cards to set up an exchange of 960 telephone lines.
He however, did not divulge their identity.
"The duo used to obtain SIM cards using multiple fingerprints of those regular customers who used to go to them to get new phone connections," Pant said.
Speaking about Ibrahim, the City police chief said he had worked in Dubai as a driver and returned from there to set up the telephone exchange in Bengaluru using Voice Over Internet Protocol.
Gautham from Tamil Nadu was operating the exchange, he said.
Most of the calls originated from the Middle East and a few people there helped Ibrahim in making calls, the officer explained.
He added that the payment for the calls used to happen in Dubai and it was routed to India through a money laundering network.
"The man from Bhatkal, whom we have taken in our custody, used to route money through Hawala (money laundering network)," Pant said.
He, however, declined to comment on allegations about some people trying to locate military installations in the country, saying investigation is still in the preliminary stage and it would not be appropriate to say anything on this.
To a question whether such exchanges were a threat to national security, he said it could be used for any purpose.
"If a call is not coming through the proper channel, then we will have to look into it seriously.Only after the analysis, we will get to know slowly who were making calls and what their motives were," Pant said.
He said the police would take the help of other agencies as well if the need arises for a detailed investigation.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Vartha Bharati–Sankalp predictions align closely with Karnataka bypoll results
Bengaluru: The Vartha Bharati–Sankalp election analysis has shown a high level of accuracy in predicting the outcome of the recent Karnataka Assembly by-elections held in May 2026, correctly calling winners in both constituencies and closely estimating vote share trends.
The by-elections were held in Bagalkot and Davanagere South, drawing significant political attention as both seats were seen as key tests for the ruling Congress and opposition BJP.
According to the analysis, Vartha Bharati–Sankalp had made three major projections ahead of the results the winning party, vote share percentages, and margin of victory.
In both constituencies, the platform accurately predicted that the Congress would emerge victorious. The outcome matched the projections, with Congress candidates winning in Bagalkot and Davanagere South.
In terms of vote share, the predictions were largely in line with the final results. In Bagalkot, the BJP’s vote share was forecast in the range of 40 to 46 per cent, while the actual figure stood at 42.9 per cent. The Congress vote share, however, exceeded expectations, with the party securing 55.4 per cent against a projected range of 43 to 48 per cent.
The margin of victory in Bagalkot turned out to be significantly higher than anticipated. While the projection had placed the margin between 2,000 and 3,500 votes, the final margin was around 22,332 votes.
In Davanagere South, the predictions also remained largely accurate. The Congress vote share was projected between 43 and 51 per cent, and the final figure stood at 43.9 per cent. The BJP was expected to secure between 42 and 50 per cent but ended with 40.3 per cent.
The analysis had also identified the role of SDPI as a potential spoiler in the constituency. While its vote share was estimated around 6 per cent, the party eventually secured around 12 per cent of the vote.
The margin of victory in Davanagere South was predicted to be between 1,500 and 2,600 votes. The actual margin was higher at around 5,708 votes, though the contest remained relatively close as anticipated.
Overall, the performance of Vartha Bharati–Sankalp stood out for correctly identifying the winning parties in both seats and maintaining close accuracy in vote share estimates, with only limited deviations in specific cases.
