Chinese national detained; was visiting J-K, Ladakh without permission: Officials
Srinagar (PTI): An unusual chatter on the Internet intercepted by the army alerted security agencies in the Kashmir valley, leading to the detention of a Chinese national who had entered Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir without permission, officials said on Sunday.
Hu Congtai, 29, arrived in Delhi on November 19 on a tourist visa, which permitted him to visit Buddhist religious places in Varanasi, Agra, New Delhi, Jaipur, Sarnath, Gaya and Kushi Nagar.
However, leveraging his resemblance to locals, he boarded a flight to Leh on November 20 and did not register at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office counter located at the Leh airport.
During his stay, he toured the Zanskar region for three days and visited places of importance in the Himalayan town before landing in Srinagar on December 1, the officials said.
A search of his phone history showed that he was looking for the deployment of CRPF in the valley, the officials said, adding he was being questioned by various agencies.
According to the officials, he had arranged for an Indian SIM card from the open market.
While in Srinagar, where he stayed in an unregistered guest house, the Chinese national went to a Buddhist religious place at Harwan, a place where an encounter had left one Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist dead last year.
According to the officials and data extracted from his phone, he had also visited Awantipur ruins in South Kashmir, which is located near Victor Force headquarters of the army in South Kashmir.
During his stay, he had also visited different areas of Srinagar, including Shankracharya hills, Hazratbal, and Mughal Garden along the Dal Lake.
His phone history showed searches related to CRPF deployments and Article 370 of the Constitution which was abrogated in August 2019 to end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said.
Hu has completed his graduation in Physics from Boston University and has claimed that he likes to travel. His passport shows that he has visited various countries, including the US, New Zealand, Brazil and Fiji, and Hong Kong.
The officials said that he had violated the visa regulations and, at best, they could deport him back to his country.
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Pune journalist booked on voyeurism charge for filming woman at lodge
Pune (PTI): Police have registered a case of voyeurism against a television journalist in Pune for allegedly filming a woman in an objectionable position without her consent at a lodge in the city, officials said on Saturday.
The FIR was filed against Rohan Kadam under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 77 (voyeurism) and 3(5) (common intention) at the Vishrambaug police station here, while the complaint mentions that he was accompanied by three other journalists, they said.
The incident took place on April 8 when the accused had checked into a room at a lodge in Budhwar Peth, which houses a red light area.
In her complaint, the woman said that while she was wearing her saree after establishing "physical relations with a customer", she realised that an unidentified person was filming her through a net above the partition wall between the rooms.
She opened the door of her room and knocked on the adjacent door, asking the person to come out, the FIR said.
"The woman sought clarification from Kadam, who gave vague answers and refused to show his phone. When the lodge operator, the woman and others questioned him, he claimed that they were a group of four journalists conducting a sting operation," it said.
Police said Kadam was assaulted when he allegedly tried to flee from the spot.
The woman later approached the Vishrambaug police station and lodged a complaint.
"We have registered a case in this regard and further probe is on," a police officer said.
Meanwhile, the Pune Union of Working Journalists (PUWJ) has written a letter to city Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, seeking action against the journalist for the alleged act.
In the letter, the journalists' body said there were murmurs that some journalists and others were trying to ensure that no offence is registered in the matter.
"We do not agree with this and clarify that PUWJ will not come in the way of the probe," the letter stated.
