Satellite phone calls: Joint operation by state & central agencies underway: Araga Jnanendra

Shivamogga: Karnataka police have already begun an investigation into the illegal operation of satellite phones in the state’s coastal and Malenadu areas, said Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Monday.

The state police have shared information about the satellite phone signal detected with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials and the joint operation to trace the culprits behind it is underway, he said.

The internal security department of the state will assist the central intelligence agencies in the operation, he added.

In a serious security concern, the intelligence department had detected satellite phone calls from the Karavali coast and Malenadu areas. Satellite phone calls were detected from 4 locations in the past  10 days alone. Intelligence agencies have detected phone calls were made from Natekal on the outskirts of Mangaluru, Forest areas of Chikkamagaluru between Kadur-Biruru, Yallapura, and Sirsi in Uttara Kannada.

Several instances of unauthorized satellite phone calls have been reported from the Malenadu and Karavali coast in the past few years. However, the entities behind these calls remain elusive.