Terrorists in north Bengal get SIM cards from touts: sleuths

Prashant Acharya, EOI, Siliguri, 16 Oct 2014: Intelligence officials have claimed a group of touts are engaged in supplying Indian and Bangladeshi SIM cards to terrorist outfits in North Bengal. A source said Central and state intelligence agencies along with the NIA and BSF are on the lookout for this group that is active in Jalpaiguri, Siliguri and Cooch Behar. The touts get a good amount of money from terrorists for supplying mobile SIM cards, which could be anything between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 per card.

According to the source, the touts apply for SIM cards in the names of poor people like rickshaw pullers and daily wage labourers by paying them about Rs100-Rs300 for a photocopy of their voter ID cards.

The NIA and other intelligence agencies have stepped up their vigil after the Burdwan blast. The touts reportedly keep track of the movement of BSF jawans guarding the border and pass the information to terrorist groups across the border.

BSF DIG (North Bengal Frontier) D Haokip said the touts have links with terrorist outfits in Bangladesh. He said they pass information on the movements of the BSF along the border using the illegally procured SIM cards.