Chinese nationals visit Arunachal on wrong permit

GUWAHATI: Two Chinese ‘tourists’ visited Arunachal Pradesh on a wrong permit despite ministry of home affairs (MHA) guidelines that restrict entry from certain countries, including China, to the frontier state.

This happened a fortnight before Beijing protested US envoy Richard Verma’s visit to Tawang last month and warned New Delhi against the proposed visit of the 14th Dalai Lama on an invitation from Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu in March next year.

Officials in the frontier state were left red-faced after they discovered that two Hong Kong-based Chinese nationals – Young James John and Wu Chong Shong – were given a Protected Area Permit (PAP) to visit Tawang, West Kameng and Lower Subansiri districts for 30 days from September 12 “for tourism purposes”.

The PAP was issued on August 30 by DJ Borah, then the deputy resident commissioner (DRC) based in Guwahati.

According to rules, Chinese, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Afghanistan nationals have to obtain the Restricted Area Permit from the MHA to enter Arunachal Pradesh.

“On Tuesday, we lodged a police complaint against Borah for gross negligence and posing a threat to national security. We met tourism officials and the parliamentary secretary in charge and let them know the DRC should be booked under National Security Act for allowing the Chinese nationals in without MHA approval,” John Panyi, president of Arunachal Pradesh Tour Operators Association, said.