NEW DELHI: Tihar Jail Officials on Thursday night carried out a massive search operation inside sub-jail number 8 and recovered a mobile phone and a SIM card in which Telegram account in the name of ‘Jaishulhind’ was created.
This account claimed responsibility for the explosives-laden SUV that was found abandoned near an industrial plant. Mukesh Ambaniresidence in Mumbai and demanded money through cryptocurrency.
According to prison sources, jail number 8 houses Indian mujahideen terrorists such as Tehsin Akhtar apart from some inmates linked to Al Qaeda and the underworld. The mobile phone was recovered from the Akhtar barracks and is now a strong suspect in the case.
The Delhi Police Special Cell on Thursday visited Tihar Jail to track down user number 9311 ** 0819, who Mumbai PoliceCyber experts said it had been located near Tihar, and they sought help in tracking down the phone and number. Tihar sources said that at least 11 inmates were questioned and their belongings and cells were thoroughly searched.
Mumbai police sources said their investigation had revealed that this mobile phone number was registered in the name of a Jayadip Lodhiya, Raghubar Pura, east of Delhi. It was activated in July last year and then smuggled into Tihar. While probing this number, the police have also come across another number, 9711 ** 9888, which was found to be off since September last year. This number was used to activate the main number.
The user of the main number was using an application that generates virtual numbers which were then used to create the Telegram account. Also, the user was using a TOR browser that masks a user’s IP address while using the Internet.
Cyber experts hired by the Mumbai police used Trojans to obtain information about the Telegram channel and discovered that it was created on the afternoon of February 26. The message claiming responsibility for placing the vehicle outside Ambani’s residence was posted on Telegram late on February 27.
The message also demanded a payment in cryptocurrency (Monero) and mentioned a link for the transfer. However, another message from Jaish-ul-Hind appeared a day later on a social media platform claiming that the organization had no role in the incident.
In Jaish-ul-Hind, intelligence agencies said it was a non-existent group on the ground and their investigation suggests it was an online entity that could be a front for a terrorist group or a hoax created by a rival spy agency of another. . country to fool investigators. The name first appeared when a Telegram channel with this name claimed responsibility for the low-intensity explosion in front of the Israeli embassy in Delhi on January 29.
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