2 Indians move to China hotel after Indian foreign office protests

BEIJING: The India's embassy advisory against the southern Chinese city of Yiwu is intended to send the right message to its neighbour.

"We expect the advisory will send out appropriate signals to both Indian businessmen and Chinese authorities," said Rahul Chabra, deputy chief of mission at the Indian embassy. He said Chinese officials were told of the confinement of Indian businessmen in Yiwu immediately after it happened in mid-December but did nothing. Action was taken only after the matter came up in court on December 31.

An Indian consular officer S Balachandran had collapsed during negotiations last Saturday to free Deepak Raheja and Shayamsunder Agrawal, locked in a financial dispute, after he was denied food and critical medication.

On Monday, an angry Indian foreign office had summoned Chinese deputy ambassador Zhang Yue to protest and demand the Indian traders be freed immediately. Since then, the two Indians have been moved from the police station to a hotel under police escort last night. They were still in the hotel until late on Tuesday and their fate remained uncertain. Raheja and Agrawal were pleading with desi authorities to be freed and sent home and Indian officials said efforts were on to bring them to Shanghai to ensure their safety.