Fascination of AI, robotics drew 22-year-old to IIT-B: Police
Bilal Teli, 22, arrested for unauthorized stay at IIT-B, earned ₹1.25 lakh/month in Surat, aspired to be an influencer; links to Pakistan investigated.
MUMBAI: A week after Bilal Teli, 22, was arrested for unauthorised stay of 19 days between May and June on the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) where he attended lectures on artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, pretending to be a PhD student, it has come to light that he works in a private firm in Surat earning ₹1.25 lakh every month, and attended classes at the premier institute by breaking rules only to cultivate his curiosity in the subject. He also fancied a second career as a social media influencer to enhance his earnings.
Furthermore, as Teli’s distant relatives reside in Pakistan, his misconduct has come under sharper focus of law enforcing agencies, said an officer from the Mumbai police’s crime branch, privy to the probe.
A senior police officer, who is part of the investigating team, said Teli had acquired a one-year diploma in web designing after completing his Class 10 in Mangaluru, where the family resides. He subsequently moved to Surat where he works in a private firm; “this being his third job which fetches him ₹1.25 lakh monthly”.
“He had created 21 email accounts with names of cities such as Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Hyderabad and others, to upload videos of content from those cities as he wanted to make more money as a social media influencer,” said the officer. “At this stage, after scrutinising those emails and few other details, nothing appears to be suspicious.”
Teli had taken pictures of the campus through his phone camera but had not sent them to anyone, the officer added. “He found a sofa in the common room of the hostel to sleep and managed to get free coffee impersonating as a PhD student.”
{{/usCountry}}Teli had taken pictures of the campus through his phone camera but had not sent them to anyone, the officer added. “He found a sofa in the common room of the hostel to sleep and managed to get free coffee impersonating as a PhD student.”
{{/usCountry}}The Telis – Bilal’s parents, older brother, sister and grandmother – live in Mangaluru. The family that is originally from Surat, made the shift around 30 years ago. His father runs a garment shop in Mangaluru while his other relatives live in Surat. The officer said, “While some of his distant relatives live in Pakistan, investigation till now has not revealed that he had communicated with or sent any pictures and videos to anyone, including his relatives, in Pakistan.”
{{/usCountry}}The Telis – Bilal’s parents, older brother, sister and grandmother – live in Mangaluru. The family that is originally from Surat, made the shift around 30 years ago. His father runs a garment shop in Mangaluru while his other relatives live in Surat. The officer said, “While some of his distant relatives live in Pakistan, investigation till now has not revealed that he had communicated with or sent any pictures and videos to anyone, including his relatives, in Pakistan.”
{{/usCountry}}Teli has been interrogated by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). He had visited UAE thrice, and last December travelled to Bahrain for official work from his company, added the official.
Teli was first spotted in IIT-B on June 4, when Shilpa Kotikal from the institute’s Credit Department raised an alarm, saying an unidentified man had entered her office without authorisation. When she asked him to produce his identity card, he disappeared. Kotikal then checked the CCTV footage and shared images of Teli with campus security, who failed to locate him at the time, said a police officer.
He left the campus on June 7 and headed for Surat and returned on June 10, and proceeded to attend lectures on AI and robotics for a week. He was eventually nabbed by campus security on June 17, after Kotikal noticed him in the lecture hall LH-101, attending a class. The IIT Quick Response Team (QRT) detained him and handed him over to the Powai police.
Interrogations revealed that Teli had arrived at the IIT-B campus on May 27, ostensibly to attend a day-long study programme, but stayed on. The Powai police registered a First Information Report (FIR) on June 19, and Teli was formally arrested on June 24, on charges of trespassing. The case was transferred to the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the Mumbai crime branch and a section of forgery was added in the case. The police also questioned his father who arrived in Mumbai then and stayed in a hotel for a few days. He is currently in the police custody till July 7 for investigation.
Teli had made calls to people, whose identities police have yet to ascertain, using digital apps. “We are also trying to extract more data from his laptop and mobile phone to find out if he was in touch with anyone or if he was staying on campus illegally under anyone’s instructions,” the official added.
