The hopes of Indian traders Deepak Raheja and Shyamsundar Agarwal of an early return to India from China are fading, with two more Chinese businessmen filing fresh complaints against them, and the Indian authorities not pursuing their release with any measure of urgency.
It’s a little over five months since the traders were held captive in Yiwu and later moved to a safe location in Shanghai. Kamal Raheja, the brother of Mr Deepak Raheja, said his brother and Mr Agarwal had completed all their court hearings. In fact, they were pursuing with the judge that they are ready to pay the guarantee in order to secure the lifting of the travel ban, and the judge was positive towards their move. But, meanwhile, they got information from advocates that two more traders have approached the court against them.
“My brother called me on Wednesday and said that on Monday he got calls from his advocates, informing that two traders have approached the court and filed two petitions against them. Somehow the traders have come to know that the judgement, which is pending in Yiwu court, will be in favour of my brother and Mr Agarwal and that’s the reason other traders moved against them,” says Mr Kamal Raheja. Mr Kamal Raheja further said that despite several requests to the Indian embassy in China, nothing had been done.
“We have lost the confidence in the Indian diplomats. I had personally contacted Riva Ganguly, the Consul-General in Shanghai. She said the Consulate General Office in Shanghai can’t do anything, and that the embassy officials in Beijing should take up the issue,” adds Mr Kamal Raheja. While the two traders are literally living penniless in China, their families are faring no better with the sole breadwinners unable to send money home.
Last month, when Mr Deepak Raheja and Mr Agarwal were thrown out of the hotel, they started a hunger strike. But when it was carried by the media, Indian embassy officials brought them back to the hotel, the very next day. Now their due room rent is almost 32,000 RMB, which would amount to around Rs 2.5 lakh, said Mr Kamal Raheja. Mr Deepak Raheja’s wife and kids in Dubai are also in a bad condition. They are slipping into a huge debt as they are not able to pay the house rent. They are managing with the help of friends and relatives, said Mr Kamal Raheja.