India on Monday lodged a protest with China against the alleged ill-treatment to one of its diplomats at Yiwu city near Shanghai recently.
Chinese Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi, Zhang Yue, was summoned to the South Block, where the officials of the East Asia Division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) conveyed to him India’s disapproval of the ill-treatment that S Balachandran, a diplomat in the Indian Consulate General in Shanghai, was subjected to at Yiwu on December 31, last. The incident turned out to be the first irritant in the complex relation between India and China in 2012.
Balachandran, a diabetic, fainted and had to be hospitalised, as he was allegedly denied a break to take food or medicine during a prolonged court proceeding over a commercial dispute that involved two Indians. The 46-year-old diplomat had gone to help Indian business professionals Dipak Raheja and Shyamsunder Agrawal, who had been kidnapped by some local merchants at Yiwu more than a fortnight ago. “This seems to be a civic-commercial dispute. We would do our best to handle this properly,” Zhang told journalists after meeting top officials of the MEA in the South Block.
“I just listened to the officials from the MEA about what has happened. We are trying to find out what had happened actually,” he added.
Zhang is understood to have been told that since Balachandran is a diabetic, he requires regular intake of food and medicine and should have been allowed access to it.
Sources said similar protests had also been lodged by the Indian Consulate General with local authorities in Shanghai and by the Indian Embassy in Beijing with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Central Government of China.
According to another version of the incident at Yiwu, Balachandran had fainted after he was manhandled by local traders, when he was trying to escort Raheja and Agrawal out of the local police station after a court allowed the duo to leave.
Raheja and Agrawal worked in the purchase department of Euro Global Trading, which had bought commodities from local traders on credit.
The local traders held the duo hostage when the company’s owner shut the shop and fled without paying them the dues.
Agrawal, who is originally from Mumbai, was working for the company at Yiwu, a trading hub for several commodities. Raheja is originally from Dehradun. Agrawal’s wife Jyoti, who lives in Mumbai, received a call on December 15, last. The caller purportedly informed her about the kidnapping of her husband and allegedly told her that he would be set free only after paying a ransom of about Rs 1.6 crore.
Jyoti got in touch with the Indian Consulate General in Shanghai, which took help from local police in Yiwu to rescue Agrawal and Raheja. Balachandran went to Yiwu to coordinate with the local authorities and take them out to safety.
He negotiated for the release of the two in the court for over five hours without a break.
Though the court finally allowed Agrawal and Raheja to leave Yiwu, the local traders prevented them from going along with Balachandran, insisting that they should first clear the entire amount owed to them by the Euro Global Trading.
A group of local traders pounced on them and took away the two men from Balachandran, who fainted afterwards. He was subsequently sent to hospital by local officials and some Indians based in Yiwu.
The incident is understood to have taken place in front of the judge and police personnel.
Sources said Balachandran is now recuperating. Agrawal and Raheja remained in police custody fearing attack by the crowd.
The Indian Consulate General in Shanghai appointed a lawyer to secure the release of the duo.