The two Indians, who were held hostage in China for over 15 days and tortured, are being being taken to Shanghai from the trading hub of Yiwu city escorted by diplomats from the Indian officials.
Shyamsunder Agrewal and Deepak Raheja, who were shifted to a hotel in Yiwu for “safety” reasons by the police, are now been moved after fears of their security still lingered.
Earlier, Raheja had said over phone that they still apprehend trouble as a large crowd of locals had surrounded their hotel.
Raheja had also threatened to commit suicide if the Indian government did not intervene and have him shifted to Shanghai in the next 24 hours.
China has initiated criminal proceedings against five locals suspected for the torture of the two Indians and promised to address the issue besides giving due attention to the safety of Indian nationals on its soil.
The assurance was given by Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yan in New Delhi when he met Gautam Bambawale, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), this afternoon.
The envoy said “serious attention” was being given to the issue related to the two businessmen and hoped that it would be resolved as quickly as possible, sources said.
The Ambassador also assured the MEA that due attention was being given to the safety of Indian nationals and businessmen, they said.
China claims diplomat not ill-treated
Meanwhile, China today dismissed as “untrue” charges that an Indian diplomat was ill-treated at a court in Yiwu when he was trying to secure the release of two Indians kidnapped by Chinese traders.
“Relevant reports saying that the Indian consular official was forbidden to take food and medicine and was besieged during his stay in Yiwu are not true,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a media briefing here.
Hong’s remarks came when he was asked to comment on reports that Indian diplomat S Balachandran, a diabetic, was denied food and water, leading to his fainting at the court in the Chinese trade hub of Yiwu which he had visited to obtain the release of Agrewal and Raheja on December 31.
“I want to stress that China is a country under the rule of law and it attaches great importance to China-India relations. Relevant departments have always maintained lawful rights and interest of the Indians in China in accordance with law,” Hong said.
Hong said the two Indian businessmen are currently put up at a hotel.
Indian officials said efforts are on to bring them to Shanghai.
Raheja, one of the two Indian businessmen, had earlier said over phone that they still apprehended trouble as a large crowd of locals had surrounded their hotel.
At the media briefing, Hong said the two men “are afraid and the local police have taken measures to ensure their security. Public Security officials of Yiwu have adopted criminal enforcement measures against five suspects who were involved in illegal detention and relevant case is due for investigation.”
“Strictly abiding by the Vienna Convention on consular relations and relevant laws and regulations, China ensures the physical security for foreign consul officials and provide convenience and facilities for them to carry out their duties,” he said.
It is only an individual case caused by economic dispute and the Chinese judicial authorities are dealing with it in accordance with the law, Hong said.
“China hopes that the Indian side will look at this case from objective and just perspective and educate and get the Indian businessmen in China to abide by Chinese laws and regulations and conduct business in good faith,” he said.
Without directly referring to an advisory put out by the Indian embassy in China asking Indian businessmen to stay away from Yiwu after the December 31 incident, Hong said “Yiwu is the largest trading market of small goods. We welcome businessmen from around the world to conduct their business there.”
