Kolkata, March 18: Kolkata Police have successfully dismantled a significant cyber fraud racket that impersonated CBI officials through an illegal sim box system. This operation has reportedly defrauded victims of millions under the guise of “digital arrests.”
Since October 5, 2025, the accused had contacted Bidhann Ghosh Dastidar, a retired engineer from Paranashree, claiming to be CBI officers. They threatened him with a fictitious parcel case and displayed forged documents to instill fear of arrest. Under duress, the victim transferred ₹3.01 crore. The case has been registered under various sections of the IT Act, including 66C/66D, and multiple sections of the BNS 2023.
Technical analysis of calls made from two BSNL numbers revealed the presence of a sim box setup. The main suspect, Abir Sheikh alias Monirul Islam Sajib, was arrested on February 15, 2026. Following his confession, a raid was conducted in the Patwari Bagan area of Amherst Street.
During the raid, a fully operational sim box system was seized at 12/4/D Patwari Bagan Lane, Kolkata. Authorities confiscated 12 sim box devices, over 2,000 sim cards, several mobile phones, a laptop, and a router. Additionally, a 38-year-old resident of Kolkata, Mohammad Amjad, was also arrested.
On March 17, 2026, forensic analysis of Abir Sheikh’s seized laptop led to another raid in the Ashoknagar, Maniktala area of North 24 Parganas, resulting in the arrest of 24-year-old Arpan Sikdar. Six operational sim boxes hidden in a carton, along with 130 active BSNL sim cards, three mobile phones, four routers, a thin client, and other items were recovered.
A sim box is an illegal telecom device that converts international VOIP calls into local GSM calls by using multiple sim cards. This process reduces call costs and conceals the original source of the call, often from abroad. Fraudsters operating from foreign call centers impersonate Indian agencies to instill fear of “digital arrests,” leading to significant revenue losses for telecom companies and defrauding ordinary citizens.
Kolkata Police have stated that the investigation is ongoing. They are currently exploring links to cryptocurrency transactions, courier connections, the sim supply chain, and other accomplices. Investigations into related cases across the country are also underway.
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S.C.H.
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