CBI Arrests Accused Evading Legal Action for Last 21 Years in Illegal Telecom Exchange Case:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has apprehended an accused, Suresh Kumar Padmini Bini alias Bini S P, who had been evading legal action for the last 21 years in an illegal telecom exchange case.

The CBI had registered an instant case against the accused Suresh Kumar on January 31, 2005. According to the agency, during the period between 2004 and 2005, the accused allegedly impersonated K. Sunil and used forged documents to obtain telephone and internet connections. He allegedly operated an illegal telecom exchange from rented premises at SRM Road, Cochin.

The illegal telecom exchange was allegedly used to route incoming international calls through the internet without authorisation. The CBI stated that this caused a wrongful loss of around Rs 12.69 lakh to the Government of India. It also alleged that calls routed through the illegal telecom exchange could not be monitored by the country's security agencies.

After completing its investigation, the CBI filed a charge sheet against the accused on March 25, 2008. However, the accused remained absconding since the registration of the case in 2005 and continued to evade the trial.

Following efforts to trace him, the CBI successfully arrested the accused on September 23, 2026, at Thiruvananthapuram. The arrest was carried out in execution of a Non-Bailable Warrant issued by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court, Ernakulam.

Thereafter, the accused was produced before the competent court in Ernakulam on September 23, 2026, after the completion of all the required legal formalities. The court subsequently remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days.