Delhi daily wage worker identified as SIM owner in fake Priyanka Gandhi office call case

Kozhikode: Kerala Police have traced the registered owner of the SIM card allegedly used to make fraudulent WhatsApp calls offering Elathur MLA Vidya Balakrishnan a Cabinet berth in exchange for ₹3 crore. However, the 30-year-old Delhi-based daily wage labourer questioned by investigators has denied making the calls, claiming that he had lost his mobile phone and SIM card months ago.

The investigation is being carried out by a special team led by the Kozhikode City Cyber Crime Police under the directions of City Police Commissioner AP Shoukathali. Investigators are currently focusing their probe in Delhi after tracing the WhatsApp number used to contact the MLA.

According to police, the WhatsApp calls originated from mobile number 9540575524. The caller allegedly identified himself as "Rajkumar," claiming to be an official in Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi's office. He reportedly told the MLA that the Kerala Cabinet was likely to be reshuffled and offered to secure her a ministerial position if she paid ₹3 crore.

Subsequently, Members of Parliament Shafi Parambil and Dean Kuriakose also received similar WhatsApp calls. Congress leaders later confirmed that all three leaders had received identical offers from the same caller.

Police traced the SIM card to a Delhi resident employed as a daily wage worker. The man was questioned for nearly two hours but denied any involvement in the calls. He told investigators that he had lost his mobile phone, along with the SIM card, several months ago.

"We have identified the registered owner of the SIM card. The person questioned claims he lost his phone and SIM months ago and has no connection with the fraudulent calls. We will conduct a detailed interrogation and verify his claims to establish the truth," Assistant Commissioner of Police S M Pradeep Kumar, who is leading the investigation, told Onmanorama.

Investigators have also confirmed that the SIM card owner had not travelled to Kerala during the relevant period. Police will now carry out a detailed technical examination, including an analysis of the SIM card's mobile tower locations and the movements of those questioned in the case, to identify the actual person behind the calls.

The alleged fraud first came to light on July 6, when Vidya Balakrishnan received the WhatsApp call. Suspicious of the caller's claim, she contacted Priyanka Gandhi, who shared a sample voice note of her private secretary D.S. Rajkumar. After comparing the voices, the MLA concluded that the caller was an impostor.

Vidya Balakrishnan subsequently lodged a complaint with Kozhikode City Police Commissioner A.P. Shoukathali, who ordered a detailed investigation by the Cyber Crime Police.

Meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi's private secretary, DS Rajkumar, also filed a complaint with the Kalpetta Cyber Crime Police after learning that his identity had allegedly been misused in the scam.

Police are now relying on digital forensic evidence, including mobile tower dump analysis, to trace the individual who actually used the SIM card. A mobile tower dump is an investigative technique that enables police to identify all mobile phones connected to a particular cell tower or a cluster of towers during a specified period, helping investigators reconstruct a suspect's movements and identify possible accomplices.