West Bengal: 39-year-old Chinese man held from Indo-Nepal border

The Chinese national possessed fake documents stating him to be a resident of Kavrepalanchok in Nepal. Police and Army are inquiring into his motive behind entering India.

Darjeeling (West Bengal):A 39-year-old Chinese national was arrested at the Indo-Nepal border in West Bengal's Darjeeling after he entered India illegally with fake documents on Wednesday.

The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) nabbed the Chinese national while he was entering India from Nepal in the Panitanki area of Kharibari block in Darjeeling. The SSB jawans handed him over to the Kharibari police.

The accused has been identified as Yongjin Peng. Documents substantiating him to be a Chinese citizen have been recovered from him. Also, he possessed a fake identity card that stated him to be a resident of Kavrepalanchok in Nepal.

The police produced Peng before the Siliguri Sub-Divisional Court on Thursday and an investigation has been initiated in this connection. Along with the police, the intelligence department of the Indian Army has also started an investigation in this regard. It is being probed as to why the Chinese national wanted to come to India and what his motive was.

Darjeeling District Police DSP (Rural) Achintya Gupta said, "The detainee will be taken into custody and questioned. How he created the fake document and what was the reason for entering India will be investigated."

Incidentally, two Chinese nationals were arrested in February this year while illegally entering India through the same Panitanki border. Sharing borders with many Indian states, Nepal has become a safe corridor for infiltrators to sneak into India from neighbouring countries like China and Pakistan. Lack of proper fencing makes it easier for the infiltrators to illegally enter India.

Notably, Pakistani woman Seema Ghulam Haider entered India illegally through Nepal to live with a Hindu man, with whom she reportedly fell in love through an online gaming platform.