Cops among 9 held for selling call records, tracking people’s movements

MUMBAI: Who is someone calling? Where have they been? Whom have they been meeting or having an affair with? Information that should remain private was obtained for a price by a racket operating with the help of police personnel, the Mumbai Crime Branch has found while busting an illegal trade in confidential mobile phone data

MUMBAI: Who is someone calling? Where have they been? Whom have they been meeting or having an affair with? Information that should remain private was obtained for a price by a racket operating with the help of police personnel, the Mumbai Crime Branch has found while busting an illegal trade in confidential mobile phone data.

The racket allegedly procured and sold Call Detail Records (CDRs), Subscriber Details Records (SDRs) and mobile tower locations, allowing clients to track people’s movements and contacts. Seven accused have been arrested while two police constables posted in Jharkhand and Bihar have been booked.

The Crime Branch seized 50 CDR records, data pertaining to 520 subscribers, 550 location records or tracking instances, 420 International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) details and seven mobile phones.

The gang allegedly charged different amounts depending on the purpose. In suspected cheating cases between couples, for instance, the accused charged ₹5,000.

Social media ad led to arrests

According to Unit XII of the Crime Branch, the investigation began after officers spotted a social media advertisement offering to trace stolen or lost mobile phones for a fee.

“We came to know that the person was claiming he was a police officer, identifying himself as inspector Sanjay. He could help the person find his phone as he used to get CDR, SDR and location through which it was easy to find out who was using the phone and where,” said Navnath Dhavale, deputy commissioner of police, Crime Branch.

The gang allegedly obtained confidential details illegally from mobile service providers. A team comprising Sandeep Yede Patil and Balasaheb Raut posed as customers and contacted Hanjala Mubarak Sayyad, arranging to meet him on SV Road in Jogeshwari West. He was picked up when he arrived.

“When his two mobile phones were checked, it was found that a total nine accused were involved in the racket. We traced the others and picked them up from various places in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Bihar,” said Raut.

Cops supplied records

The police subsequently registered a case against Pankaj Kumar Mukthar Shukla, a constable with Dhanbad police, and Prince Kumar Pravin Sahani, a constable from Bihar’s Vaishali district.

While some accused allegedly acted as middlemen, the two constables allegedly supplied crucial documents. They reportedly claimed the phones were linked to crimes to obtain CDRs and SDRs from telecom providers, which were then used to trace stolen phones or monitor spouses, rivals and employees.

The police said the records were also supplied to clients involved in marital disputes who wanted to track their partners’ movements and contacts.

In one striking instance, a businessman whose premises were raided by GST officials allegedly procured CDRs of all his employees and even the officers involved, seeking to identify who had tipped them off about the raid.

Ordinary citizens cannot directly obtain another person’s CDR or SDR from a telecom provider; access is restricted to authorised processes for legitimate investigative purposes.

An FIR was registered at Oshiwara police station under Sections 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by personation), 204 (personating a public servant), 223 (disobedience of a lawful order issued by a public servant), 351 (criminal intimidation), 112 (petty organised crimes) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.