Chinese National Detained in Srinagar Over Suspicious Activity, Unauthorised Travel

 

Srinagar: Unusual online messages intercepted by the Army alerted security agencies in the Kashmir Valley, leading to the detention of a Chinese national who had entered Ladakh and J&K without permission, officials said.

 

 

The man, identified as Hu Congtai (29), arrived in Delhi on November 19 on a tourist visa. His visa allowed him to visit only certain Buddhist religious places like Varanasi, Agra, Delhi, Jaipur, Sarnath, Gaya and Kushinagar.

 

 

However, instead of following the visa route, Hu secretly boarded a flight to Leh on November 20. Officials said he did not report to the Foreigners Registration counter at Leh airport.

 

 

He stayed in the Zanskar region for three days and visited nearby areas. On December 1, he reached Srinagar, where he stayed in an unregistered guest house.

 

 

During his stay in Kashmir, Hu visited several places including Shankaracharya Hill, Hazratbal shrine, Mughal Gardens, Dal Lake, and a Buddhist site at Harwan, where a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist was killed in an encounter last year. He also visited the Awantipora ruins in south Kashmir, which are located close to an Army headquarters.

 

 

Security agencies found that his mobile phone searches included information about CRPF deployment and Article 370. Officials also said he had arranged an Indian SIM card from the local market.

 

 

Hu told authorities that he is a physics graduate from Boston University and enjoys travelling. His passport shows that he has travelled to several countries, including the US, New Zealand, Brazil, Fiji and Hong Kong.

 

 

Officials said he clearly violated visa rules. He is currently being questioned, and authorities said the likely action would be deportation to China.