Call data records scam: 146 new numbers sent for investigation

On January 24, four private detectives were arrested by Thane crime branch (unit 1) for allegedly selling call data records illegally.

The Thane police have sent a letter, which includes 146 new numbers, to nodal officials for investigation with regard to the call data records (CDR) scam. Along with the earlier list of 284 numbers, the total list of numbers to be investigated now comes up to 430 numbers.

“We had already sent a letter to the nodal officials. Now, we have sent another letter with 146 new mobile numbers , to investigate the accused’s links with other in Maharashtra or India. We suspect that the accused have links with a few police officers in Delhi but do not have anything conclusive yet,” said a police officer from the Thane crime branch.

On January 24, four private detectives were arrested by Thane crime branch (unit 1) for allegedly selling call data records illegally. The data was sold for amounts ranging from Rs25,000 to Rs50,000. The accused Makesh Pandiyan,42, Prashant Palekar,49, Jigar Makawana,35, and Samresh Jha alias Pratik Mohpal, 32, were arrested from Kalwa.

“A phone belonging to one of the accused has a lock pattern, so we have sent the mobile phone to the forensic lab. We mainly found CDRs from Ajinkya Nagargoje, who has been arrested. We have received information regarding 160 CDRs,” the officer said.

So far, 14 people have been arrested for involvement in the scam, including a police constable from Assam.