In Short
- Accused Vivek Sabharwal used forged Aadhaar, business letterheads
- He tried to port Baba Siddiqui’s number to new SIM for criminal use
- Number was active as remembrance and used by Siddiqui’s family
The Mumbai Police have arrested a man from Delhi for allegedly activating the mobile number of late Maharashtra leader Baba Siddiqui using forged documents to commit cyber fraud.
According to officials, the accused, identified as Vivek Sabharwal, was picked up from Burari in Delhi on Sunday and brought to Mumbai for questioning. Sabharwal had allegedly attempted to reactivate Siddiqui’s number by using fake documents, including an Aadhaar card, PAN card, and forged business letterheads.
Police said Sabharwal procured a new SIM card and tried to port Siddiqui’s old number onto it. Officials believe he planned to use the number for cyber crime activities. Notably, Sabharwal is already facing two cases related to cyber fraud and was out on bail in one of them.
The number in question had been kept active by Siddiqui’s family as a remembrance and was never disconnected after his death. It was being used by Arshia Siddiqui, who runs a restaurant, and by Siddiqui’s wife Shazia Siddiqui for their construction business.
The fraud attempt came to light on June 24, when the concerned telecom company received an email requesting activation of the number with attached fake documents. The email was CC’d to Shazia Siddiqui, which immediately alerted the family.
Sensing foul play, they approached the Mumbai Police, which registered a case and launched an investigation.
Following the trail, a Mumbai Police team traced Sabharwal to Burari and arrested him. After being brought to Mumbai, he was produced before a court, which remanded him to police custody.
Baba Siddiqui, a three-time Congress MLA who joined the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party in 2024, was shot dead on October 12 last year outside his son, MLA Zeeshan Siddiqui’s office in Mumbai. Police said the shooters had conducted surveillance for weeks before firing six rounds at him.
In the ongoing probe into his murder, prime suspect Akashdeep Gill recently told investigators that he used a labourer’s mobile hotspot to stay in touch with alleged mastermind Anmol Bishnoi and others, in an attempt to avoid being tracked.
