Indian diplomat S Balachandran attacked in court by Chinese traders

BEIJING: An Indian diplomat was injured and hospitalised following an assault by a large group of Chinese traders in a court, as he tried to secure the release of two Indians who were held hostage by locals, demanding payment of their dues in the eastern business hub of Yiwu.

S Balachandran, a diplomat at the Indian Consulate in Shanghai was rushed to hospital when he fainted after being "manhandled" by the crowd that tried to snatch two kidnapped Indians who clung to him.

The incident happened when he was leaving the court after prolonged negotiations on the night of December 31.

The two Indians had been held hostage by the local traders for two weeks for non-payment of dues by their company, whose owner had allegedly fled the country.

Riva Ganguly Das, the Consul General of the Shanghai Consulate of India told PTI here that Balachandran, working as Consul at the Consulate fainted when he was "manhandled", while attempting to get the release of Deepak Raheja and Shyamsunder Agrawal.

Balachandran, 46, tried to negotiate for their release for over five hours at a court in Yiwu, a big trading centre for a host of commodities.

He was assaulted when the two Indians, being held captive for over fortnight clung on to him to leave the surcharged place. The incident took place in the court and in the presence of police and the judge.

A high drama ensued as the crowd prevented the two from going along with him demanding that they pay millions of Yuan owed to them for commodities purchased from them.