The West Bengal Police’s Special Task Force (STF) has arrested two persons from the Pingla area in Paschim Medinipur district on suspicion of spying for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The duo allegedly supplied Indian SIM cards and OTPs to Pakistani handlers to activate WhatsApp accounts for espionage activities.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Sheikh Mursalin, a resident of Kshirai Panchayat under Pingla police station, and Goutam Khara of Surjchak in the same area. Both were involved in the sale and activation of SIM cards, primarily in minority-dominated localities. According to police sources, Mursalin used to forward the SIM numbers to contacts in Pakistan. Once the Pakistani handlers activated WhatsApp accounts using these numbers, Mursalin would receive the OTPs on the Indian SIMs in his possession and pass them on, allegedly earning ₹3,000 to ₹5,000 per OTP.
Apart from this, they are also accused of sending various sensitive information and images to Pakistan. They used to exchange information through WhatsApp and also received money in return.
As per locals, Gautam and Mursalin had been selling SIM cards by going door-to-door across the locality for several years, and they used an e-rikshaw owned by Gautam for this purpose. They primarily visited Muslim-majority areas to sell the SIM cards, and many times they sold such SIMs without required documents.
Investigators suspect the pair helped activate around 400 SIM cards over the last three years. Multiple mobile phones and a large number of pre-activated SIM cards were recovered from them. Police said evidence of communication with foreign numbers, including possible links to Pakistan, has been found.
West Midnapore Superintendent of Police Papia Sultana confirmed the arrests. “Two people have been arrested based on information we got… Many SIMs were found with them, and some connections and communications were also found, which may be from foreign countries; they have been arrested on this basis,” she said.
#WATCH | West Medinipur, West Bengal: Regarding the arrest of two people for alleged spying links in West Medinipur district, SP Papiya Sultana says, "2 people have been arrested based on information we got… Many SIMs were found with them, and some connections and… pic.twitter.com/sIYqHBgsWc
— ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2026
The arrests were made on Tuesday evening following a case registered by the STF. The duo was produced before the Bidhannagar Court in Kolkata on Wednesday and remanded to 14 days of police custody.
A case has been registered against the arrested persons under various sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Telegraph Act and Foreigners Act.
This incident comes amid heightened alertness over cross-border espionage networks operating through mobile numbers and digital platforms. The STF is investigating whether the two were part of a larger syndicate and is examining their travel history. Mursalin is reported to have visited Thailand multiple times, and the expenses covered by the Pakistani agents. His documents are currently being scrutinised to determine whether he also visited Pakistan.
