Police in Mumbai have arrested a man from Delhi for allegedly attempting to fraudulently activate a new SIM card using the mobile number of late Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former legislator Baba Siddique, who was murdered in October 2024.
The accused, identified as Vivek Sabharwal, a resident of Delhi’s Burari area, was taken into custody by Bandra Police. Authorities said he has two prior cases of cybercrime registered against him in Mumbai and is suspected of being part of a wider cyber fraud network.
Following Baba Siddique’s death, his family retained his mobile number due to its connection to ongoing business operations.
On 24 June, an email was sent in the name of Baba Siddique’s wife, Shahzeen Siddique, requesting official ownership details as well as authorisation for the number.
This email contained forged documents of Baba Siddique's family, including Shahzeen’s Aadhaar card, PAN card, GST number, and the official letterhead of the office of the family.
As per the investigators, the accused intended to use the fabricated documents to activate the number of Baba Siddique on a separate SIM card and device to facilitate cyber scams.
The telecom provider, detecting irregularities in the request, alerted the family via email. The communication was also copied to Siddique’s daughter, Dr Arshia Siddique, prompting the family to suspect an attempted scam.
The family immediately filed a complaint at Bandra Police Station. An FIR was lodged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 319(2) (cheating), Section 62 (attempt to commit a cognisable offence), Section 335 (forgery of documents), Sections 336(2) and 336(3) (forgery of records), and Section 340(2) (misrepresentation of electronic records as genuine).
Sabharwal was subsequently traced and arrested in Delhi. Police said a preliminary investigation indicates a broader link to organised cyber fraud activity.
The probe remains ongoing.
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