Kolkata/New Delhi, Jun 11: A Chinese national apprehended while trying to cross the India-Bangladesh border illegally has told the investigators that he and his associates have smuggled as many as 1,300 Indian SIM cards into their country by hiding them in undergarments, the BSF said on Friday.
Han Junwe (35), a resident of China's Hubei province, has been handed over by the Border Security Force (BSF) to the West Bengal police for "further legal proceedings".
He was nabbed by a BSF patrol party from the Malda district of the state on Thursday.
"Junwe has been a wanted criminal and upon thorough interrogation, shocking facts have come to the fore that he has so far taken around 1,300 Indian SIMs from India to China using fake documents.
"Junwe, through his associates, used to hide the SIMs in undergarments and send these to China," the Kolkata-headquartered south Bengal frontier of the BSF said in a statement.
These SIM cards, it alleged, were used to hack accounts and carry out financial frauds.
"Their (Junwe and his associates) purpose was to cheat people using SIMs and to get their money. His apprehension is a big achievement for the BSF," the force said.
Junwe has told security officials that he was using the India-Bangladesh border to enter the country as he failed to get an Indian visa after his business partner Sun Jiang was arrested by the Lucknow Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in a case of fraud recently.
"Since then, the process of issuance of a Blue Notice (issued by the Interpol) against Junwe was also initiated as per procedure," the BSF said.
A Blue Notice is generated to collect additional information about a person's identity, location or activities in relation to a crime.
The BSF claimed that a large amount of "suspicious" electronic devices were recovered from Junwe.
The Chinese national has told the interrogators that he visited India at least four times in the past and has a hotel in Gurgaon, near Delhi.
In a video statement provided by the force on Thursday, Junwe said he entered India by "mistake" and that he wanted to "surrender" before the Lucknow ATS.
He also said he visited India in the past in connection with e-commerce business.
The Border Security Force apprehended a Chinese national on June 10. He was allegedly seen crossing the India-Bangladesh border illegally and then 'stealthily' moving forward
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) June 11, 2021
When confronted, the man named Han Junwe tried to run, but was caught and interrogated, as per the BSF. pic.twitter.com/CJFLQprneJ
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Chandigarh (PTI): A rescue operation at the site where a four-storey building collapsed in Sohana village of Punjab's Mohali district continued on Sunday, officials said.
The multi-storey building collapsed on Saturday evening, with at least five people trapped in its rubble. A 20-year-old woman died in the incident on Saturday evening.
The woman hailing from Himachal Pradesh, died after she was pulled out of the debris of the building. She was rescued from the rubble in critical condition and was rushed to a hospital, but she succumbed to her injuries.
The rescue effort continued overnight.
A man hailing from Ambala Cantt told reporters at the site that his 29-year-old son, who used to visit a gym in the building, was missing.
Police have booked two building owners in the incident.
Several excavators were pressed into service as part of the rescue operation.
National Disaster Response Team (NDRF), Army, state rescue teams have been working since Saturday evening to address the crisis. Medical teams, along with an ambulance, have also been deployed at the site since Saturday evening.
As the operation continued at the site, required equipment and machinery have been made available to the rescuers, in addition to those brought by the NDRF and Army.
"IndianArmy reacted swiftly for the rescue. In a remarkable display of coordinated efforts, #IndianArmy Columns along with #NDRF and State rescue teams have been relentlessly working to address the crisis.
"Engineer Task Force with debris clearance machine & JCBs are operational at site. Top debris removed & efforts being done to reach the basement," Western Command, Indian Army, said in a post on X.
After the incident on Saturday, all major hospitals in Mohali such as Civil Hospital (attached within Medical College), Fortis, Max and Sohana, were put on alert to cater to the wounded.
Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, who was at the spot on Saturday, had said a multi-agency rescue effort was underway.