Inqhilab
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NEW DELHI: Investigations into the illegal intrusion of three Chinese Uyghur men into India who had sneaked into Leh two months ago have taken a curious 'Bollywood' turn. First suspected to be headed to Pakistan and linked to terror groups, the men have now turned out to be clean with interrogations revealing that they were actually headed to Mumbai to meet Shah Rukh Khan.
They told their interrogators from Intelligence Bureau (IB) that they had seen several films of the superstar and were massively influenced by them. "They said they wanted to visit Mumbai for the dual purpose of meeting the superstar and finding a better life for themselves as they came from impoverished backgrounds and thought India could give them that," an officer privy to their interrogation said.
Interestingly, now China has asked that the men be handed over to them even as India prepares to hand them over to local police for passport violation.
In June, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) had detained three Chinese men who had entered Leh from China's restive Xinjiang province. Identified as Adil, Salamo and Abdul Khaliq, the three had no passports and were found carrying improvised knives, swords and a political map of India with markings in Arabic. Initially, language barrier prevented a detailed interrogation of the men.
Being Uyghur Muslims and given their origins in Xinjiang which has been in the terror crosshairs of late with several Pakistani terror groups having grown footprints there, Indian agencies were rattled with the developments. Given the circumstances, the men were suspected to be heading to Pakistan for terror training.
Intelligence agencies have earlier had information of Uyghur Muslims being trained in Pakistani terror camps. China has even accused Pakistan openly of fanning terror in Xinjiang.
However, detailed interrogation with help from translators and investigations of the men revealed nothing incriminating about them except the absence of valid travel documents. "The Arabic script on the political maps is actual Uyghur language which is written in Arabic script. The maps are easily available in markets of the region to which the men belong. They have nothing else to suggest that they are either criminals or terrorists," an officer said.
However, since they had illegally entered India without a valid passport, they will be handed over to local police for further action on passport violation, sources said.
Bollywood twist to intrusion by three Uyghur men into Leh - TOI Mobile | The Times of India Mobile Site
They told their interrogators from Intelligence Bureau (IB) that they had seen several films of the superstar and were massively influenced by them. "They said they wanted to visit Mumbai for the dual purpose of meeting the superstar and finding a better life for themselves as they came from impoverished backgrounds and thought India could give them that," an officer privy to their interrogation said.
Interestingly, now China has asked that the men be handed over to them even as India prepares to hand them over to local police for passport violation.
In June, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) had detained three Chinese men who had entered Leh from China's restive Xinjiang province. Identified as Adil, Salamo and Abdul Khaliq, the three had no passports and were found carrying improvised knives, swords and a political map of India with markings in Arabic. Initially, language barrier prevented a detailed interrogation of the men.
Being Uyghur Muslims and given their origins in Xinjiang which has been in the terror crosshairs of late with several Pakistani terror groups having grown footprints there, Indian agencies were rattled with the developments. Given the circumstances, the men were suspected to be heading to Pakistan for terror training.
Intelligence agencies have earlier had information of Uyghur Muslims being trained in Pakistani terror camps. China has even accused Pakistan openly of fanning terror in Xinjiang.
However, detailed interrogation with help from translators and investigations of the men revealed nothing incriminating about them except the absence of valid travel documents. "The Arabic script on the political maps is actual Uyghur language which is written in Arabic script. The maps are easily available in markets of the region to which the men belong. They have nothing else to suggest that they are either criminals or terrorists," an officer said.
However, since they had illegally entered India without a valid passport, they will be handed over to local police for further action on passport violation, sources said.
Bollywood twist to intrusion by three Uyghur men into Leh - TOI Mobile | The Times of India Mobile Site
