The LeT terrorists have been found using a communication device called ‘Ultra’, a suspected Chinese technology, the sources told ThePrint.
Last week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had reportedly briefed the all-party meeting that the security agencies “could not trace any communication signal within a radius of 50 km of Baisaran for at least five days before the attack”.
Shah, according to , informed the parliamentarians that the terrorists did not use any communication device.
The sources said Ultra is a system that gets connected to a regular mobile phone and is able to transmit information via radio network. They said that this is encrypted and that they have not been able to crack how the signal is transmitted back to Pakistan.
The sources explained that these are like satellite devices which get connected to a specialised mobile phone. They explained that earlier the technology allowed only sending of encrypted text messages, but now even allows sending of voice notes and video.
“The phones are not using any Indian mobile operators like Airtel or Jio and are not like the traditional satellite phones,” one of the sources explained.
They said that the problem with the Ultra technology is that while the security forces are able to pick it up the moment it is switched on, the location is very generic and can at times be within a radius of 5-10 km.
The sources said that even those forces after the group of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists behind the Pahalgam attack have picked up ‘Ultra’ beeps a few times but are yet to have a pinpoint location.
Another tactic the terrorists use is keeping messages in the outbox and switching on handsets briefly to send or receive messages.
Asked how come LeT was using this technology and the JeM, the sources said that LeT is directly supported and funded by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
“LeT is like the Territorial Army of the ISI. JeM has its own separate funding and protocols though they also work with the ISI from time to time. But they are more independent unlike the LeT,” another source explained.
Asked how the terrorists are managing to move from one location to another through thick forests, the sources said that there are various open source apps in the dark net and otherwise which allows storing of pre-fixed locations and the maps works without any internet or satellite connections.
One such device that the terrorists are using is Alpine Quest, a mapping and navigation application, popular among many trekkers. Such maps allow pre-fed locations and they are able to work even in offline mode, that is without any internet connectivity.
The sources said that in multiple operations, security forces have recovered Ultra phones but have not been able to track it. The first such recovery happened in 2023 following an encounter at Sindarah top area of Surankote, the sources said, adding that even friendly western countries have not been able to crack it.
Sources said that once the Ultra and Communication device is found, they are able to read the messages and who they have been sent to. The names have all been saved as codes and over a period of time, the security forces get to know who is who.
“The problem is we have not been able to crack when the information transmission is on. That is the worry,” one of the sources cited above said.
They said that the security forces were initially taken aback by the lack of technical intelligence footprints by terrorists. “It is only after encounters and seizures, we are able to find out the routes that these terrorists took and who else are involved,” another source said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
