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After 96 hrs of seizure probe agencies unable to crack passwords of Chinese spy’s gadgets

On 10 June, BSF arrested a Chinese National identified as Han Junwe (36) from the Border Out Post of Malik Sultanpur in West Bengal, when he was trying to illegally cross the Indo-Bangladesh International Boundary. During the investigation, it was revealed that he was working in India for the Chinese Intelligence Agency.

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Published : Jun 19, 2021, 8:41 PM IST

Kolkata: Over 96 hours have passed since probe agencies have seized the laptop and mobile phone of an arrested Chinese spy, Han Junwe. However, till now neither the central probe body, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) nor the Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal police had been able to crack the passwords of the two gadgets seized from Han. As per the latest information available, Han’s laptop and mobile are being sent for forensic examination with the hope of securing some information on them. Han is currently under the custody of STF.

Now, the question is arising on why despite such massive technological achievements, the probe agencies are unable to crack the passwords of the gadgets. The excuse that is being projected by the sleuths is that since both the laptop and the mobile are locked with passwords in the Mandarin language, an individual knowing that language is required to crack the passwords. “Once the passwords are cracked they will surely lead to a large amount of new information that will help us in leading the investigation further,” said a probe official on strict condition of anonymity.

Read:|Chinese cyber spies active at Indo-Bangladesh border, BSF on high alert

Now, another question is that is it a reality that the probe agencies have been unable to crack the passwords of the two gadgets after so many hours. Or is it just a story that is floated by the investigating agencies to maintain absolute secrecy about the probe process? Former commando of National Security Guard (NSG), Dipanjan Chakraborty feels that the second probability of deliberately floating a story sounds more likely.

“There is no password in this world which the technical teams of NSG or NIA are unable to crack. But we need to understand one thing. There is a lot of difference between normal crime and crimes related to national security. In the first case leaking some information does not make any difference in the probe's progress. But in the second case, if information about the probe progress is leaked then those associated with the crime might become alert and this national security will be jeopardized. And since this particular matter is related to the Indo-China relationship, the probe agencies and their officials need to be far more careful. I also feel that strict secrecy has to be maintained about the probe's progress in such matters,” Chakraborty told ETV Bharat.

Read:|Border Security Force arrests Chinese intruder

Meanwhile, after a marathon interrogation of Han, the interrogating sleuths of STF have got some information about Hawala links to the arrested Chinese spy. “We doubt that Han and one of his associates used to transfer money to China through the Bitcoin route and they used special software for that purpose. Again the special software was China-made. We also have doubts of Han having links with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA),” the STF official said.

The investigating officials have also secured special information on Han owning a hotel in Gurgaon, which he purchased from the money he received through the Hawala route. “We doubt that he was also involved in transferring money to China through the same Hawala route from India-bordering Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan,” the probe official said.

Read:|'Arrested Chinese national smuggled 1,300 Indian SIM cards to China'

Read:|Indian SIM cards used in China for frauds under lens

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