Snooping racket: Call detail records sold; Delhi pvt detective agencies, UP constable under scanner

Delhi Police said they have arrested four persons in the illegal snooping racket. Incidentally, one of those held had been arrested three years ago for illegally obtaining CDRs and had tried to obtain the CDRs of senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, said police. The prime accused purchased each CDR for Rs 7,000 from the UP Police constable, who is currently posted with the surveillance cell at the Inspector General’s office in Kanpur, said Delhi Police. “UP Police officials are bringing the constable to Delhi to join the probe,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav.

[related-post]

Watch Video: What’s making news

Police are looking into information of the possible involvement of a retired bureaucrat in the racket, said sources. Police said the gang is suspected to have procured and sold thousands of sensitive CDRs to clients in matrimonial matters, legal disputes, business rivalries, financial enquiries as well as CDRs of talks between high-profile persons, including politicians and top bureaucrats.

Yadav told The Indian Express, “The four arrested persons have been identified as Sanjeev Chaudhary (42), working with BLS Management Solutions Pvt. Ltd (BLMS), Pankaj Tiwari (26), Jaiveer Singh Rathore (45) and Aditya Sharma alias Arpit (32). Aditya was arrested with his associates in 2013 for illegally obtaining CDRs of several prominent people and they also tried to obtain CDRs BJP leader Arun Jaitely. After coming on bail, he changed his name from Arpit to Aditya and started running his own detective agency in Uttam Nagar and illegally started procuring CDRs.”

Yadav said two director-rank officials of BLMS were on the run. Yadav said they recently received information that Tiwari, who runs his detective company, Scorpion Verification and Consultancy Pvt Ltd in Janakpuri district centre, was illegally procuring and selling CDRs. “On July 4, a decoy customer approached Tiwari and asked him to produce a sample of CDR as proof before striking a deal. After taking advance payment of Rs 5,000, Tiwari produced a CDR and after verifying it, he was apprehended,” he added.

Tiwari disclosed he used to procure CDRs from Rathore, who runs a channel ‘Abhi Tak’ in local cable network of south Delhi as well as M/s Rathore Media & Detective agency, said police. “Rathore was also apprehended and he disclosed he used to buy the CDRs from UP Police constable Narendra. Rathore used to collect demands of CDRs from various detective agencies for amounts ranging up to Rs 30,000. He got them after paying Rs 7,000 to Narender for each CDR. Then he passed them on to these detective agencies,” said a senior police officer. On Rathore’s information, his receivers Sharma and Chaudhary were arrested, the officer added.

Police have recovered several CDRs from computers at BLMS office in Barakhamba. Yadav said, “Documents recovered from BLMS indicate rampant use of CDRs for spying… The company’s HOD Vinod Chaudhary, Operation Manager Sunil Pathak, and owners are on the run. Role of other detective and nodal agencies is being probed.”