A day after four local residents were arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch on Saturday for allegedly having links with underworld don Chhota Ranjan and his associates, the Gopalpur police are planning to take the accused on remand to unearth more clues.
Sources said police would apply to court for a five-day remand of the accused on Monday. The police are also waiting for cyber experts to scrutinise the China made SIM boxes, as this type of crime is new for them. Senior police officials said they are taking the case seriously as the incident has international ramifications and they have been speaking to high level police officers in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
It might be mentioned that a Mumbai-based builder had received an extortion call from Suresh Pujari, who is a close associate of Chhota Rajan and is presently believed to be based in Hong Kong. The Mumbai CB which was investigating into the case, came to know that the call was made from here but was routed through a SIM box, which is like a small telephone exchange and through which upto 100 SIMs can be used.
It is very difficult to trace a call made from a SIM box, as the receiver thinks he is receiving a local call. As the Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) does not approve use of SIM boxes, it is illegal and is mainly used by terrorists and gangsters.