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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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
