Mobile phones, cash seized from Kolkata American Center attack mastermind’s jail cell

Three mobile phones, a Wi-Fi device and ₹31,000 in cash were seized from the cell of Aftab Ahmed Ansari, the mastermind of the 2002 attack on the American Center in Kolkata, who was serving a prison sentence, officials said on Saturday (29 Aug 2026).

The seizure at the President Correctional Institution prompted prison authorities to lodge a complaint with the Hastings police station, which registered a case and started an investigation, they said.

Convicted in the attack on the American Center and serving a life sentence, Ansari is housed in cell number 14 at the correctional facility.

A search was conducted following intelligence inputs that Ansari was allegedly using a mobile phone in jail and had access to the Internet, a correctional institution official told PTI.

“Three mobile phones were found in his clothes and bedding, two routers, a Wi-Fi device, a pen and headphones were also confiscated,” he said.

Cash of ₹31,000 in ₹500 notes was also found in his cell, the official said.

Investigators are also trying to determine whether calls were made to Ansari’s contacts outside the country, he said.

Published – 29 Aug 2026 15:08 IST