Chinese man blacklisted for violation of visa norms, deported to Hong Kong

Chinese national Hu Congtai, who had entered Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir in violation of his visa stipulations, has been deported to Hong Kong, officials said on Thursday.

The decision to deport and blacklist the 29-year-old Hu was taken after completion of forensic examination of his mobile phone as he had visited places of strategic importance in Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, they said.

“The Chinese national who was detained here last week has been sent to Delhi on the evening of December 10 for onward deportation to Hong Kong,” the officials said.

Hu 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, 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.

He was detained after an Army unit noticed an unusual chatter on the Internet. The officials had found that his browsing history indicated an interest in the deployment of paramilitary forces in Kashmir valley, prompting them to ascertain the purpose of his visit to the strategically important Zanskar region in Ladakh late last month.

During his stay at Ladakh, he had toured the Zanskar region for three days and visited places of strategic importance in the Himalayan town before landing in Srinagar on December 1, the officials said.

During his extensive questioning, the Chinese national said that he was in the United States for nine years, during which he studied physics at the Boston University, and loved to roam around the globe, the officials said.

He feigned ignorance about visa violation, claiming he was unaware that he was restricted from travelling to Ladakh and J&K and had to strictly adhere to the places mentioned in his visa, the officials said.

Hu had leveraged his resemblance to locals and boarded a flight to Leh on November 20 without registering at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office counter located at the Leh airport.

According to the officials, he had arranged for an Indian SIM card from the open market.