Central intelligence agencies in a joint operation with the Himachal Pradesh police arrested eight persons of Chinese origin holding Taiwanese passports from Mandi late on Tuesday night.

Though the agencies are extremely tight-lipped about the incident, sources confirmed they had received specific inputs about the suspicious movement of Chinese persons in Himachal Pradesh.

Intelligence sources said what was intriguing was that though the accused hold Taiwanese passports, they were speaking only Chinese language.

Various agencies are trying to ascertain whether the seized passports are genuine. All eight suspects had exceeded the stay of their tourist visas.

“Once it’s confirmed whether the passports are genuine or not we will get a clear picture about their nationality,” a home ministry official said.

The police has sought the assistance of Chinese interpreters to question the accused. Intelligence sources also confirmed they were investigating the arrests from three possible angles — whether the suspects were part of a bigger spy network, were the suspects involved in smuggling of foreign currency, and whether they were in the state targeting the Dalai Lama.

Considering the sensitive nature of the case, Intelligence Bureau director Nehchal Sandhu personally briefed home minister P. Chidambaram about the arrests.

Speaking to mediapersons in Ahmedabad, Mr Chidambaram said, “It is too early to give any official version. It is too early to come to a conclusion. Reports are yet to come.

Wait till tomorrow morning. Don’t rush to any judgments.” The Union home ministry has sought a detailed report from the Intelligence Bureau and the Himachal police.

Sources said the accused were arrested from a palatial mansion in Mandi which reportedly belongs to a resident of Sikkim.

The mansion was protected by a 15-foot-high boundary wall with barbed wire. “From the first look it appeared as if the boundary wall was to conceal some illegal activity going on inside the premises.

Then there were at least 10 ferocious hunting dogs inside the house which even attacked the police during the raid,” an intelligence official disclosed. Intelligence agencies recovered more than Rs 30 lakh in cash, $3,000 and other foreign currency, mobile phones and SIM cards from the accused.

Sources said the accused were posing as carpenters and electricians. “If they had so much cash what was the need for them to work as carpenters, painters and electricians. There is definitely something very suspicious,” the official added.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused person had been talking frequently using the SIM cards on cell phones with Chinese numbers.

Intelligence agencies are trying to get the details of these numbers. It has also been revealed that the accused were using their international ATM cards to withdraw money which had been put in their accounts from Hong Kong and Singapore.

Another crucial aspect related to the case is the increased threat perception to the Dalai Lama. The home ministry, along with intelligence agencies, had recently done a thorough review of the Dalai Lama’s security.

Sources said they were trying to ascertain if it was a genuine case of violation of tourist visa norms by indulging in craftsmanship