A 29-year-old Chinese national has been detained in Srinagar after allegedly travelling through strategically sensitive regions of Ladakh and Kashmir in violation of visa conditions. Authorities say the case has triggered a national security probe amid concerns that the individual may have accessed or shared classified information.
Hu Congtai arrived in New Delhi on 19 November on a tourist visa intended solely for Buddhist pilgrimage routes, including Varanasi, Agra, Delhi, Jaipur, Sarnath, Gaya and Kushinagar. However, investigators claim he ignored these limitations and instead travelled to Ladakh and the Kashmir Valley without notifying the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
According to officials, Hu spent three days in Zanskar before moving across multiple monasteries and high-security zones. His trail reportedly included locations near the headquarters of the Army’s Victor Force in South Kashmir, Buddhist sites in Hawrwan and Awantipora, Hazratbal shrine, Shankaracharya Hill, Dal Lake and the Mughal Gardens, areas not open to unrestricted foreign access.
Authorities are also examining how Hu acquired an Indian SIM card through the open market immediately after landing in India, a move considered difficult without local identity documentation. His mobile phone has been sent for forensic analysis after investigators discovered searches referencing CRPF deployment and the abrogation of Article 370. Specialists are trying to determine whether browsing data was deleted.
During questioning at Police Post Humhama, near Srinagar Airport, Hu allegedly denied any intent to breach Indian law and claimed ignorance of visa rules. He told officials he studied Physics at Boston University and has lived in the United States for nine years. His passport indicates extensive recent international travel, including to New Zealand, Brazil, Fiji and Hong Kong.
Senior officers handling the case maintain that the focus is not only on the visa breach, but on understanding Hu’s purpose behind travelling to regions regarded as highly sensitive from a defence perspective. Security agencies are expected to continue the interrogation in the coming days while awaiting digital forensic results.
The Chinese man detained in Kashmir remains in custody while the investigation seeks to establish whether his movements were part of tourism, as he insists, or part of a coordinated intelligence-gathering effort.
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