Beijing/New Delhi: India on Monday lodged a strong protest with China over the harassment of an Indian diplomat who collapsed after being denied food and medicines despite his diabetic condition during negotiations to free two Indians in a court at the city of Yiwu near Shanghai.
The ministry of external affairs summoned Chinese deputy ambassador Zhang Yue after reports reached Delhi about an Indian official S Balachandran, posted at the Indian Consulate in Shanghai, being maltreated by traders and local officials at Yiwu, a city known for its large commodity market, on December 31.
Last Saturday, Balachandran was closeted in prolonged negotiations with some Chinese traders and courts to free Shyamsundar Agarwal and Deepak Raheja, who said they were kidnapped and tortured after the Yemeni trading firm they worked for failed to pay dues allegedly amounting to millions of yuan.
The Indians claim to have been tortured by their captors who forced them to eat human excreta and drink urine after being held by Chinese traders livid at their dues not being settled. “Please save us. We are afraid of leaving the police station because we might be killed,” Agarwal told TOI over telephone from the police post where he is being held along with Raheja.
According to Indian officials, Balachandran was stuck for over six hours in a room and the Chinese denied food or his medicine. Balachandran, who is a diabetic, is believed to have repeatedly asked for food but was not given any. When he finally emerged from the room, he was confronted with scared Indian traders and angry Chinese. He collapsed, and was rushed to hospital. On January 1, Balachandran was moved to Shanghai and is currently reported to be out of danger. Chinese businessmen torturing us: Indian traders
Agarwal and Raheja are terrified for their lives. Agarwal pleaded to be saved from what he said were lynch mobs. “We have been tortured for two weeks by traders. We have been beaten, made to do terrible things. Even the medical test done on court orders shows my mind has been affected by the torture,” Raheja told TOI.
Agarwal and Raheja were left to face the ire of the Chinese after the owner of the Yemeni firm Euro Global Trading Mahir Faoud Husain Bazaara disappeared. They were picked up by Chinese traders, who are allegedly owed large sums of money by the company.
Indian officials are trying to persuade Chinese authorities to provide police protection to the two Indians, who are complaining of hideous conditions. “We have been tortured for two weeks by the traders. The police have agreed to let us stay in the police station until tomorrow morning. Please help us. We don’t know what will happen if we leave these premises,” Agarwal said.
India has protested that the treatment to its diplomat is a contravention of the Vienna Convention. In Delhi, answering questions, Chinese diplomat Zhang Yue said, “This seems to be a civic-commercial dispute. We would do our best to handle this properly.”
The two Indians have pleaded that they can hardly be called to account for the Yemeni company’s actions. “I am an ordinary clerk in the company. I have bought nothing from the Chinese traders. But they are demanding money from me because our company owner has vanished after making the purchases,” Agarwal said.
He added he did not know what papers he has signed during the interrogation and torture. “We have done nothing wrong. But they can now use the papers to show we made the purchases and did not pay for it,” he said. The buying was done by his employer who owns the firm Euro Global Trading, he said.
The ministry of external affairs summoned Chinese deputy ambassador Zhang Yue after reports reached Delhi about an Indian official S Balachandran, posted at the Indian Consulate in Shanghai, being maltreated by traders and local officials at Yiwu, a city known for its large commodity market, on December 31.
Last Saturday, Balachandran was closeted in prolonged negotiations with some Chinese traders and courts to free Shyamsundar Agarwal and Deepak Raheja, who said they were kidnapped and tortured after the Yemeni trading firm they worked for failed to pay dues allegedly amounting to millions of yuan.
The Indians claim to have been tortured by their captors who forced them to eat human excreta and drink urine after being held by Chinese traders livid at their dues not being settled. “Please save us. We are afraid of leaving the police station because we might be killed,” Agarwal told TOI over telephone from the police post where he is being held along with Raheja.
According to Indian officials, Balachandran was stuck for over six hours in a room and the Chinese denied food or his medicine. Balachandran, who is a diabetic, is believed to have repeatedly asked for food but was not given any. When he finally emerged from the room, he was confronted with scared Indian traders and angry Chinese. He collapsed, and was rushed to hospital. On January 1, Balachandran was moved to Shanghai and is currently reported to be out of danger. Chinese businessmen torturing us: Indian traders
Agarwal and Raheja are terrified for their lives. Agarwal pleaded to be saved from what he said were lynch mobs. “We have been tortured for two weeks by traders. We have been beaten, made to do terrible things. Even the medical test done on court orders shows my mind has been affected by the torture,” Raheja told TOI.
Agarwal and Raheja were left to face the ire of the Chinese after the owner of the Yemeni firm Euro Global Trading Mahir Faoud Husain Bazaara disappeared. They were picked up by Chinese traders, who are allegedly owed large sums of money by the company.
Indian officials are trying to persuade Chinese authorities to provide police protection to the two Indians, who are complaining of hideous conditions. “We have been tortured for two weeks by the traders. The police have agreed to let us stay in the police station until tomorrow morning. Please help us. We don’t know what will happen if we leave these premises,” Agarwal said.
India has protested that the treatment to its diplomat is a contravention of the Vienna Convention. In Delhi, answering questions, Chinese diplomat Zhang Yue said, “This seems to be a civic-commercial dispute. We would do our best to handle this properly.”
The two Indians have pleaded that they can hardly be called to account for the Yemeni company’s actions. “I am an ordinary clerk in the company. I have bought nothing from the Chinese traders. But they are demanding money from me because our company owner has vanished after making the purchases,” Agarwal said.
He added he did not know what papers he has signed during the interrogation and torture. “We have done nothing wrong. But they can now use the papers to show we made the purchases and did not pay for it,” he said. The buying was done by his employer who owns the firm Euro Global Trading, he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment