In a significant crackdown on cybercrime and suspected anti-national activities, Assam Police has revealed a sophisticated fake SIM card racket under 'Operation Ghost SIM'. This announcement was made during a press conference led by Assam's Director General of Police (DGP) Harmit Singh and Guwahati Police Commissioner Partha Sarathi Mahanta. Investigations uncovered that these counterfeit SIM cards were being utilized to create WhatsApp accounts, which were sending one-time passwords (OTPs) to Pakistan. Although these accounts appeared to be domestic, they were actually operated from foreign locations and were allegedly involved in activities threatening national security.

This operation was initiated based on crucial intelligence provided by the Indian Army's Gajraj Military Intelligence Unit, which was later developed into actionable leads by the Special Task Force (STF) and Assam Police's Special Branch. A formal case was registered on May 14, 2025, at the STF police station (Case No. 02/2025), invoking relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and the Information Technology Act.

On May 16, police teams conducted simultaneous raids across five districts, including Dhubri and Morigaon in Assam, two districts in Rajasthan (Bharatpur and Alwar), and Sangareddy in Telangana. This operation resulted in the arrest of seven individuals, identified as follows:

Saddiq (47) - Bharatpur, Rajasthan

Arif Khan (20) - Alwar, Rajasthan

Sajid (21) - Alwar, Rajasthan

Akeek (25) - Bharatpur; arrested at Guwahati Airport

Arsad Khan (34) - Bharatpur; arrested at New Delhi Airport

Mofizul Islam (19) - Dhubri, Assam; arrested in Telangana

Zakariya Ahmed (24) - Dhubri, Assam