Maharashtra: Illegal telephone exchange busted in Thane

The police in Maharashtra’s Thane district have arrested a 34-year-old man who ran an illegal telephone exchange and diverted international calls to local numbers, an official said.

Tabrez Sohrab Momin was arrested from Bhiwandi following a raid at the illegal telephone exchange by the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) on Wednesday, said senior inspector Ankush Bangar of the Bhoiwada police station.

Momin allegedly received calls from his overseas clients through internet-based applications and then forwarded them to local numbers with the help of some gadgets, said the official.

The operations of the illegal telephone exchange caused a loss of Rs 70,500 to the government, said the official without elaborating.

Another concern with such exchanges is that they may be misused by anti-social elements as it is difficult to trace the calls routed through them, said the official.