Intelligence agencies trace suspect satellite calls from coastal Karnataka

Bengaluru: Intelligence agencies reportedly tracked several satellite phone calls from the coastal Karnataka and Malnad regions to foreign locations.

The central agencies alerted the Karnataka government about five calls made in the past week, sources said.

The phone calls were traced to be from Moodabidire, and Mudipu regions in Dakshina Kannada, dense forest areas of Uttara Kannada, and two other locations in Chikkamagaluru.

For a long time, the central intelligence agencies have detected suspicious satellite calls from the Karnataka coast. The recent alert is the third one this year alone.

Timings of these calls raise suspicions that anti-national forces may be activating sleeper cells in the state, sources said.

Earlier this year, the issue was raised in the Karnataka assembly and Home Minister Araga Jnanedra had briefed the house about the coordinated actions carried out with the help of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

(with inputs from IANS)