YADGIR: Intelligence agencies recently intercepted a satellite phone call made to Pakistan from near Shellagi village in Surpur taluk and alerted the local police. The issue has come to light only now.
Use of satellite phones by civilians is banned in the country, yet the call was made from a Chinese-made phone to Pakistan on September 12 this year, sending alarm bells ringing.
The day the call was made coincided with Kalyana-Karnataka Vimochana Day. Based on the GPS location, central and state security agencies visited the village and conducted investigations.
A couple of such incidents have been reported in the past too. In April 2021, a satellite phone call was made to Pakistan from Hedgimadra village. In 2014, NIA officials from Mumbai and Hyderabad had visited Yadgir as some most wanted terrorists, including SIMI’s Mehboob, had escaped from the Khandwa jail in Madhya Pradesh and were hiding in the district.