The Mumbai Police have arrested a man from Delhi for allegedly activating the mobile number of late Maharashtra chief Baba Siddiqui. He tried to use the number for cyber fraud.
According to officers, the accused, identified as Vivek Sabharwal, arrested from Burari in Delhi on Sunday and taken to Mumbai for investigation. Sabharwal had allegedly attempted to reactivate Siddiqui’s number by using fake documents, consists Aadhaar card, PAN card, and cast industry letterheads.
Vivek Sabharwal arrested for using Baba Siddiqui number illegally
Police stated Sabharwal buy a new SIM card and tried to port Siddiqui’s old number onto it. Officials believe he deliberate uses the number for cybercrime activities. Notably, Sabharwal is already dealing with cases associated with cyber fraud and has been out on bail in at least one of them.
The number kept active by Siddiqui’s family as a remembrance and not deacticated after his loss of life. It currently used by Arshia Siddiqui, who runs a restaurant, and by Siddiqui’s spouse, Shazia Siddiqui, for their business.
Family Notice Fake Attempt on Number
Baba Siddiqui, a 3-time Congress MLA who joined the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party in 2024, shot dead on October 12 last year outside his son, MLA Zeeshan Siddiqui’s office in Mumbai. Police said the shooters had conducts surveillance for weeks before firing six rounds at him.
The fraud attempt came to light on June 24, whilst the concerned telecom company obtained an email asking for activation of the account with connected fake documents. The email was CC’d to Shazia Siddiqui, that alerted the family. They approached the Mumbai Police, which registered a case and starts an investigation.
Following the trail, a Mumbai Police team traced Sabharwal to Burari and arrested him. After being added to Mumbai, he was produced before a court, which remanded him to police custody.
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