The chief of the Special Task Force, Rajiv Kumar, said the Kolkata police were writing to its J&K counterpart asking for details and his photograph.
KOLKATA: Even after a day-long interrogation of Mukhtar, who had allegedly passed on SIM cards to LeT terrorists who in turn took them to Karachi to be eventually handed over to the perpetrators of Mumbai blasts, the Kolkata police are yet to verify if he is a sub-inspector of Jammu and Kashmir police.
The chief of the Special Task Force, Rajiv Kumar, said the Kolkata police were writing to its J&K counterpart asking for details and his photograph.
Asked if he was a member of the J&K police, Kumar said, "How can he be a policeman? We have proof that he was a dealer in shawls for two years in Kolkata and thereafter he worked as an auto driver for three years. We have witnesses and documents."
He said the police could not locate Mukhtar's special branch clearance from the J&K police. He was not in the city for the past two years.
The police are also looking for more youths in Kolkata who were employed by Mukhtar to procure SIM cards for terror outfits.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detective Department), Jawed Shamim, said that it was certain that Mukhtar collected the pre-activated SIMs from Kolkata and later passed them on to the terrorists.
The Kolkata police arrested Mukhtar Ahmed Sheikh (32) on Saturday, who had over a period of time collected more than 35 SIM cards, from New Delhi and Tausif Rehman (26), who obtained the cards for Ahmed, here from Tiljala in the city's outskirts.
The arrested duo were interrogated by the police on Sunday at the city police headquarters.
According to police sources, during interrogation Mukhtar admitted that he had collected the SIM cards from Tausif and other youths in the city and paid them at a premium rate.
"During interrogation Mukhtar confessed that in the past few years he had employed local youths to procure SIM cards in bulk through illegal means. We are also trying to find details as to how those cards reached the terrorists in Pakistan," said an officer of STF.
On Sunday the STF sleuths conducted raids in the Park Street, Beniapukur, Tiljala and Taltala areas to apprehend some local youths who were allegedly employed by Mukhtar.
The police said that the SIM cards, around 35 in number, could actually be more as Mukhtar had been buying the cards in separate lots for the past few years.
It was found by the sleuths that the SIM cards used by terrorists in Mumbai were collected in October.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}