The Special Task Force (STF) of the Odisha Police has decided to invoke sedition charges against the mastermind of the fake SIM cards and OTP sharing scam Pathanisamant Lenka.

As per reports, the decision has been taken by the investigating agency after Lenka’s links with Pakistani intelligence agents have been established. 

The STF is likely to take Lenka on remand from Saturday for further interrogation.

To unearth more information, the STF has sought details about the SIMs from the telecom service providers. They have also approached the National Payment Corporation of India regarding the bank transactions of the accused to ascertain the money trail. 

Lenka was among the three persons arrested on the charges of selling and sharing OTP with some criminals and anti-national elements. The two other accused are Saroj Kumar Nayak and Soumya Pattanaik.

Senior STF officials said that in return, the accused were paid by some Pakistani agents based in India. Moreover, they were in touch with a woman operative of Pakistan Intelligence, who was arrested in an Official Secrets Act/ and honey-trap case in Rajasthan in 2022, the STF officials said.

The OTPs were used to create various accounts or channels on social media like WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, and Instagram and also on online shopping sites like Amazon, Flipkart. These were also used in opening email accounts. Most thought that these accounts were owned by an Indian, but they actually were being operated from Pakistan.

These social media platforms would then be used in various kinds of anti-India activities like espionage, communication with terrorists, radicalisation, running anti-India propaganda, fuelling anti-India/ divisive sentiments on social media, sextortion and  honey-trapping.