Valsala Krishnankutty, a 54-year-old widow from Punnapara in Alappuzha, had the shock of her life when a call came from the local police station. After a group of police officers quizzed her near the Kalathatt junction at her village, her apprehension soon shifted to bewilderment as they asked how a SIM card taken in her name was used by an accused in the murder of BJP leader Renjith Sreenivasan on December 19, 2021. The number was used hours after the death of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) leader KS Shan.
Valsala said she had felt embarrassed by the question in public and assumed it was related to the SIM card of her late husband. “I was embarrassed at the questioning by the police at the junction. But then I was shocked when they asked for the details of the SIM card taken in my name. I thought it might be related to the SIM card of my husband’s phone. We could recover his phone after the accident which killed him two years ago,” she said.
After the probe based on Valsala’s statement, police told her a new SIM card was found registered under her name and had been used in the murder case.
Valsala told police that she gave her Aadhaar details to Mohammed Badusha, who runs a mobile shop named ‘B&B” to take a SIM card on August 10. “I went to his shop and got his help to get a new SIM. He asked me to stand in front of a camera, took my photograph, said it was not ok and then took a second one. He gave me one SIM. Only when the police revealed the case, I realised how they deceived me,” she said.
Badusha is one of the accused in the Renjith Sreenivasan murder case. Badusha had made a new SIM using the elderly’s identification details with the alleged help of Sulfikkar S, a leader of SDPI.
The accused gave her a new SIM after processing her customer application form (CAF). However, he retook a photograph and processed another form, claiming an error as per the FIR dated December 31, 2021.
Based on her statement, the Punnapra police have registered a case against Badusha and Sulfikkar.
“My husband died in an accident. I work as domestic help and stay with my sister. I considered Badusha and Sulfikkar as sons as they were my son’s friends. How can they do this to me?” asked Valsala. Her only son had passed away a few years ago.
According to highly placed sources, the accused have used the same modus operandi to get SIM cards under the identity of others allegedly for criminal activities.
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