‘Operation Ghost SIM’: Assam man who helped route fake numbers to Pakistan-based WhatsApp accounts arrested

The Assam Police on Saturday night arrested the prime accused in a fake SIM card racket allegedly linked to Pakistan, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 11 since May 16. The crackdown is part of ‘Operation Ghost SIM’, a joint effort initiated by the state police based on intelligence inputs from the Indian Army.

The accused, Mostafa Rahman (29), was nabbed by the Special Task Force (STF) from Pokalagi Part III village in the Dhubri district of lower Assam. He is believed to be a key operator in the racket that generated and circulated SIM cards using fake identities for cybercrime and anti-national activities.

During the arrest, police recovered critical evidence including:

• One laptop
• Two mobile phones
• Three micro ATM machines
• One biometric device
• Six ATM cards
• Eleven voter ID cards
• An Aadhaar card and a PAN card

“Further interrogation of the accused is currently underway,” Assam Police said in a statement.

SIMs used to create WhatsApp accounts for Pakistan-based operatives

Launched on May 16, ‘Operation Ghost SIM’ unearthed a network operating out of Assam, Rajasthan, and Telangana, where fraudulently obtained SIM cards were allegedly being used to support cybercrime operations and sensitive communications with Pakistani agents.

According to the police, the accused procured SIM cards using documents of unsuspecting citizens and used them to activate WhatsApp accounts that appeared to be Indian, but were allegedly operated by anti-national actors.

“In this case, there seems to be clear evidence that some of these numbers have been shared across and are being used by inimical elements,” a senior police officer said.

Accused face terror, cybercrime, and conspiracy charges

The case has been registered under multiple serious provisions, including:

• Criminal conspiracy
• Waging or attempting to wage war against the Government of India (under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita)
• Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967
• Information Technology (IT) Act

The first arrests under this operation were made in Assam, Rajasthan, and Telangana on May 16, with seven individuals taken into custody. The arrest of Rahman marks a significant step in uncovering the larger network behind what officials have called a “national security threat disguised as digital fraud.”

(With inputs from ToI)