New Delhi: Government on Thursday said the two Indian traders, who were mistreated in the Yiwu city of China, are now safe in Shanghai but their return to the country will have to wait till the litigation against them is completed.
"The traders are in Shanghai and Indian consulate
officials are in touch with them. We do not want to disclose
their location as they are in a state of shock... this is also
a matter of private information," OSD, External Publicity,
Ministry of External Affairs, Syed Akbaruddin told reporters.
He maintained that the family members of the traders,
identified as Deepak Raheja and Shyam Sunder Agarwal, have
been informed about their whereabouts and insisted that they
are safe in Shanghai.
However, their return to India will not be imminent as
they are facing charges of non-payment and the like and
unless these are sorted out, the traders will have to stay in
China.
"They are involved in a financial litigation which is
on-going... The litigation has to run its course," Akbaruddin
said, adding the standard norms and procedures have to be
followed but the consulate continues to closely follow the
developments and will render all possible help.
The two Indian traders were released yesterday after
Indian consulate intervened and were taken to Shanghai. They
had been held captive by locals in Yiwu, a trading hub of
China, as their Yemeni boss has erred on payment of dues
reportedly running into millions of dollars.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had discussed the
issue with Chinese ambassador Zhang Yan here on Wednesday.
After the two traders were released yesterday, Krishna had
said he was "immensely pleased and satisfied".
PTI
