Mumbai Police have arrested a 21-year-old SIM gallery sales executive in connection with an alleged engineering admission fraud, making him the 11th person held in the case so far.
Who Was Arrested, and What He's Accused Of
Police identified the latest accused as Abu Saif, 21, a resident of Versova who worked at a SIM gallery in Mumbai's western suburbs. He's alleged to have supplied fraudsters with SIM cards activated without the actual customers' knowledge, effectively providing the untraceable communication infrastructure the wider scam depended on. The case was registered on July 17.
According to police, Saif allegedly sold at least 300 SIM cards without proper documentation during 2026. Sub-inspector Ramchandra Pinjarkar has specifically identified 23 SIM cards that were allegedly issued without collecting the required documents, cards that were then reportedly activated and handed over to fraudsters, unbeknownst to the actual customers whose identities were used. Saif has since applied for bail.
How Police Traced the Racket Back to Him
DCP (West Zone-3) Datta Nalawade said detection teams tracked the alleged racket for a full month before making this arrest. The investigating team included senior inspector AS Sawant, inspector Sushant Bandgar, sub-inspector Prashant Kendre, Sagar Jadhav, Pinjarkar, and other staff, who worked through information about money withdrawn from bank ATMs and petrol pumps, alongside cash allegedly collected from victims, tracing that financial trail back through the network until it led investigators to the SIM gallery employee and the alleged supply chain of untraceable SIM cards fraudsters were using.
Relief for One Victim
Sub-inspector Kendre said a court has ordered a bank to transfer ₹16.5 lakh back to the account of a Powai resident who had been defrauded in connection with this case. The woman had reportedly been duped after being falsely promised that her son would secure admission to an engineering course at IIIT Hyderabad, a promise that turned out to be entirely fabricated.
The Bigger Picture
Saif's arrest brings the total number of accused held in this engineering admission fraud case to 11. Ten others connected to the alleged racket had earlier been arrested from Viman Nagar and were released on bail on Wednesday, meaning the case's investigation continues to widen even as some earlier accused move through the bail process, a pattern common in large, multi-accused fraud investigations where different individuals played different roles across the network.
FAQs
Q1. Who was the 11th accused arrested in this case?
Abu Saif, 21, a SIM gallery sales executive from Versova, allegedly involved in supplying untraceable SIM cards to fraudsters.
Q2. How was Saif allegedly involved in the fraud?
He allegedly sold SIM cards without proper documentation, some of which were activated without customers' knowledge and supplied to the fraud network.
Q3. What relief has one victim received so far?
A court has ordered a bank to transfer ₹16.5 lakh back to a Powai resident who was defrauded after being falsely promised her son's admission to an engineering course at IIIT Hyderabad.
Q4. How many people have now been arrested in total in this case?
11, including Saif and 10 others earlier arrested from Viman Nagar, who have since been released on bail.