Orissa High Court Denies Bail To Man Accused Of Receiving Money On Behest Of Pakistani Intelligence Officer, Suspects 'Larger Conspiracy'

The Orissa High Court on Friday (January 17) denied bail to a man who was found to be having links with a Pakistani Intelligence Officer linked to Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and for allegedly receiving money in his account on the behest of such Pakistani national.Suspecting a deep-rooted conspiracy involving Pakistani Intelligence Officers, the Single Bench of Justice Sashikanta Mishra held –“…the investigation suggested a deep rooted conspiracy involving Pakistani Intelligence Officers, who are said to be operating a network in this country. There could also be a larger conspiracy involved.”Case BackgroundOn 12.5.2023, one Pathani Samanta Lenka was arrested by the police and upon interrogation, he disclosed that he along with his associates engaged themselves in illegal business by sharing OTPs and mobile numbers to the members of a group which included foreign nationals including nationals from Pakistan as members. They earned money for activation/registration to different social platforms.Lenka was found to be a member of a Facebook group named as 'Free Recharge Box' which has about one lakh members including foreign nationals. The SIM cards were purchased from another person. On the basis of information given Lenka, a raid was conducted in the house of the other accused persons and several incriminating articles were seized.It was further revealed that one of the associates shared a large number of SIMs and more than 150 Paytm wallets to Lenka by using the identity cards of different persons of an area. He also shared OTPs to different anti-socials and anti-India persons including agents of Pakistan having links with ISI.Therefore, an FIR was registered under Sections 419/420/465/467/468/471/120-B/34 of the IPC and Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and all the said accused persons were arrested.So far as the petitioner is concerned, it was found that as per the direction of one Abdul Hamid, who is a Pakistani national, a co-accused transferred some monetary amount to the Paytm account of the petitioner. Also, certain SIM cards were seized from the petitioner, which were used in the UPI transaction, found to be registered in his name.Contentions of PartiesIt was argued on behalf of the petitioner that there is no evidence whatsoever against him to show that he was involved in the alleged occurrence. The only incriminating materials against him are two SIM cards registered in his name, which were allegedly used for certain transactions. It was further submitted that as certain other co-accused have already been released on bail, the petitioner must also be released.But the State Counsel opposed the prayer for bail and stated about presence of clear proof regarding direct link of the petitioner with one Abdul Hamid, an Intelligence Officer of Pakistan having links with ISI. He further informed that there is prima facie evidence of transfer of money to the account of the petitioner at the instance of the said Pakistani national.Court's ObservationsAfter going through the available materials, the Court was of the prima facie view that there was in fact a transfer of money by one co-accused to the account of the petitioner on the direction of Abdul Hamid, a Pakistani national having relation with ISI.Further, the Court perused the rejection orders whereby some other co-accused persons were denied bail, which revealed that there is every possibility of a deep-rooted conspiracy against the nation which is piloted by certain Pakistani Intelligence Officers operating through a network in India.“In any event, the fact that money was transacted into the Petitioner's account prima facie, shows his involvement and he appears to have some kind of link with Abdul Hamid, the Pakistani national having links with ISI. In the considered view of this Court therefore, the Petitioner cannot be treated at par with the co-accused persons, who have been directed to be enlarged on bail,” the Court added.Accordingly, the bail petition was dismissed.Case Title: Mohammad Iqbal Hussain v. State of OdishaCase No: BLAPL No. 1902 of 2024Date of Order: January 17, 2025Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr. S.R. Mulia, Advocate Counsel for the State: Mr. S.S. Routray, Addl. Standing CounselCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ori) 8Click Here To Read/Download Order

Orissa High Court Denies Bail To Man Accused Of Receiving Money On Behest Of Pakistani Intelligence Officer, Suspects 'Larger Conspiracy'

Jyoti Prakash Dutta

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