Even as the two countries have been in talks to de-escalate tension at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, China has reportedly embarked on an espionage mission against India.
According to a report in The Indian Express, the Shenzhen-based Zhenhua Data Information Technology Co. Limited has been monitoring over 10,000 prominent Indian citizens including President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Other high-profile personalities reportedly on China’s radar are Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and her family members, Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee, Ashok Gehlot, Amarinder Singh, Uddhav Thackeray, Shivraj Singh Chouhan; Cabinet Ministers Rajnath Singh, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nirmala Sitharaman, Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal; Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Singh Rawat; at least 15 former Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force; Chief Justice of India Sharad Bobde and brother judge AM Khanwilkar; Lokpal Justice PC Ghose and Comptroller and Auditor General GC Murmu; startup tech entrepreneurs like Nipun Mehra and Ajay Trehan; top industrialists Ratan Tata and Gautam Adani.
The Chinese firm has also been learnt to be monitoring bureaucrats in key positions, scientists, academicians, journalists, actors and sportspersons, religious figures and activists. The company is also keeping an eye on many people accused of financial crime, corruption, terrorism, and smuggling of narcotics, gold, arms or wildlife.
Significantly, Zhenhua works with Chinese intelligence, military and security agencies.
New Delhi and Beijing have been sparring since April-May over transgressions by Chinese Army in multiple border areas. Things got to a pass after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent skirmish with Chinese troops in the Galwan valley, Ladakh, in June.
Bilateral talks have been going on at multiple levels for three months but haven’t quite yielded results yet
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