By IANS,
New Delhi: The news of the detention of 21 Indian diamond traders in China on charges of smuggling has given a fresh twist to New Delhi-Beijing ties and comes a day after the arrest of three Chinese engineers in central India for alleged culpability in a factory accident that killed 41 people.
“We have sought details from the Indian embassy”, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters. The external affairs ministry is in touch with India’s ambassador to China S. Jaishankar, she said.
The ministry said it was aware of the detention of 21 Indian nationals by the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of Shenzhen in southern Guangdong province on Jan 8.
“They are charged with illegal transportation of diamonds from Hong Kong to Shenzhen,” said Vishnu Prakash, spokesperson of the external affairs ministry.
On learning of this detention, the Indian embassy in Beijing immediately approached the Chinese authorities seeking consular access to the Indian nationals, he said. The two countries had inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on consular matters in 2003.
Indian consular Officers are expected to be granted access to the detained Indian nationals Wednesday morning, he said.
The incident occurs at a time when distrust has resurfaced into India’s bilateral relations with China over a host of issues, including an increased Chinese assertiveness over the boundary dispute and a reported surge in Chinese incursions into the Indian territory.
Many Chinese working on various infrastructure projects in India have also complained of a host of problems, including issues relating to their visas.
Three Chinese engineers, arrested in Chhattisgarh for a power plant chimney crash that killed 41 workers in September last year, were Tuesday shifted to a district hospital in Korba town after they complained of health problems, the police said in Raipur.
India’s labour and employment ministry has objected to the influx of Chinese semi-skilled workers and technicians illegally working in India on business visas and has taken up the issue with the ministry of home affairs and external affairs.
Around 8,000-10,000 Chinese nationals are still in India on a business visa, according to official sources.
The Chinese embassy has, however, contested the figure and maintained that the number of Chinese working illegally in India would be very few.