Foreign cos under scanner in illegal phone exchange case

The Latur police, probing the illegal Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone exchange case, are trying to trace the foreign companies that provided the gateways to the accused to run the illegal telephone exchanges in Latur and Hyderabad.

According to the police, foreign companies provided unauthorised gateways for setting up an illegal exchange, costing the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) a loss of Rs 15 crore. The police are likely to send a report to the DoT, who can further take appropriate action. The investigation revealed that one of the companies was China-based Skyline, which also has tie-ups with major telecommunication companies in India.

"We have the details of a few companies. We will send these to DoT while submitting the charge sheet and would also request them to take appropriate action on such companies as it is a concern of national security," said a senior police officer of Latur police.

The accused used these gateways to earn money, by providing the service to people whose relatives are staying abroad, said the police.

Meanwhile, the police on Wednesday arrested the seventh accused in the case from Mumbai, taking the total number of arrests to seven. The accused has been identified as Yunus Azmi.