The STF conducted raids and three accused persons identified as Pathanisamant Lenka (ITI Teacher), Saroj Kumar Nayak and Soumya Pattanaik were arrested,” said the STF in a statement.
[Representational Photo : iStock]
The Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Police on Sunday busted an OTP-sharing scam and arrested three persons including a teacher who were sharing OTPs to clients including Intelligence operatives of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agents in Pakistan.
“Basing on the intelligence input about OTP sharing to some criminals and anti national elements, the STF conducted raids and three accused persons identified as Pathanisamant Lenka (ITI Teacher), Saroj Kumar Nayak and Soumya Pattanaik were arrested,” said the STF in a statement.
The arrested persons were fraudulently procuring huge numbers of SIMs in the name of others and selling the OTPs (linked/generated using the SIMs) to various clients including some Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIO)/ ISI agents in Pakistan as well as in India, it said.
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In return, they were paid by some Pakistani agents based in India. They were also in touch with a woman Pakistani agent, who was arrested last year under Official Secrets Act and in a honey-trap case in Rajasthan.
These OTPs were being used to create various accounts/channels on social media like WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, etc., and also on online shopping sites like Amazon and Flipkart. These are also used in opening email accounts.
These social media platforms operated by Pakistan-based agents are being used in various kinds of anti-national activities like spying, communication with terrorists, radicalization, running anti-India propaganda, fuelling anti-India and divisive sentiments on social media, sextortion, honey-trapping etc. As these accounts are registered/linked on an Indian mobile number for which people find it trustworthy.
The accounts opened on online shopping platforms are also used to supply items to terrorists, anti-India elements, etc. Apart from these they were also in the business of creating and selling mule accounts through social media groups which are again used in various kinds of crimes, the STF added.
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