Multi-crore call racket unearthed in Kargil

8220;The modus operandi was very simple. This businessman had taken 50 local phone connections and put them in his five call centres. And then with the help of the BSNL officials, he had secured a code which would enable these local phones to call international without being detected and metered. The ISD calls would not be detected by the exchange thus the call centre owner didn8217;t have to pay to the service provider,8221; said Bhan. 8220;Majority of these ISD calls were phone conferences between people sitting in countries outside India. The businessman8217;s brother in Saudi Arabia had set up a network of agents to fetch clients and collect payment. The call centre in Kargil would get a missed call from a client abroad, and on this signal the operator would return the call and set up a conference with the person or persons he wanted to speak to.8221;

Most calls, he said, were from Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Qatar, and Nepal. The monthly cut of some BSNL staff ran into some Rs 2 lakh.

An inspector-general of police, two senior superintendents, four deputy superintendents, and 20 inspectors were detailed to carry out investigations and raids in the case. Vigilance sources said it was a secret operation and members of the team were told they were on way to Leh not Kargil.

BSNL Chief General Manager J-K TR Wadhwa said he8217;d been informed of the busting of the racket and was awaiting reports from his own team.