India’s premier investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, has taken over the probe into an alleged illegal telephone exchange operating out of Narayanpur village in Bihar’s Bhojpur district, officials said on Wednesday. The operation, first uncovered by the Bihar Police, is suspected of routing international Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls into local voice calls using advanced equipment—technology often exploited for cybercrime and covert communications.
The CBI has registered a fresh case after the Centre formally transferred the investigation from the state police. The original first information report was filed last year following a raid that revealed a functioning SIM box hidden in the attic of a village house—an installation authorities describe as unusually sophisticated for a rural setting.
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The Alleged Mastermind and the SIM Trail
According to investigators, the illegal exchange was allegedly run by Mukesh Kumar, a resident of Narayanpur. The CBI has also named Rejaul Haque and Muktadir Hossain, both from Malda in West Bengal, who are accused of acting as point-of-sale operators for mobile connections. Officials allege that the two sold at least 67 SIM cards that were later used in the illegal setup.
The Bihar Police’s Digital Intelligence Unit traced the SIM cards back to Malda, suggesting a supply chain that extended across state lines. During the raid, officers found the SIM box actively routing calls—technology that allows multiple SIM cards to be used simultaneously to disguise the true origin of communications.
Thousands of Calls, Hidden in Plain Sight
Investigators say the setup was used to place more than 20,000 calls, making international traffic appear as local calls originating from Narayanpur. Such systems are commonly deployed to bypass international call charges, but authorities allege that in this case, the technology was being used on a far larger and more troubling scale.
The Bihar Police FIR notes that law enforcement agencies in Telangana had also flagged unusual call patterns linked to Narayanpur, prompting closer scrutiny. Officials allege that the VoIP infrastructure could have been exploited by cybercrime syndicates operating across India, enabling fraud, impersonation scams and other digital offences while evading detection.
Cybercrime and Security Concerns
Beyond financial crime, the case has drawn attention because of its potential national security implications. The state police alleged that similar VoIP systems have been used by extremist or terrorist groups abroad to communicate with sleeper cells and associates inside India, exploiting gaps in telecom monitoring.
While investigators have not publicly linked the Narayanpur operation to any specific group, they say the technology’s capacity to mask identities and locations makes it attractive to a wide range of criminal networks. The CBI is now examining call data records, SIM activation details and financial trails to determine the full extent of the operation and whether it formed part of a larger, organised network.
For authorities, the case underscores how sophisticated digital infrastructure can be embedded far from urban centres, blurring the line between rural anonymity and global connectivity—and complicating efforts to police an increasingly decentralised cybercrime landscape.
About the author — Suvedita Nath is a science student with a growing interest in cybercrime and digital safety. She writes on online activity, cyber threats, and technology-driven risks. Her work focuses on clarity, accuracy, and public awareness.
