Chinese woman, overstaying her visa found in Bodh Gaya during Dalai Lama’s visit

She has been located and is being interrogated at the Bodh Gaya police station, said Bihar’s inspector general of police (Magadh range) MR Nayak.

Dalai Lama is in Bodh Gaya for Kalchakra, which is a 10-day festival revolving around meditation and spiritual teachings of Buddha.

The intelligence agency received input regarding a Chinese woman named Song Xiaolan, who was overstaying in the country and was present in Bodh Gaya during the visit of the Buddhist spiritual leader. The Gaya Police issued a sketch of the woman and also shared her passport and visa details.

“We got inputs about a Chinese woman who has been overstaying in India and is presently said to be in Bodhgaya, which we verified and launched a search. Given the inputs, the security personnel deployed in Bodh Gaya for the security of the Dalai Lama were alerted,” said Gaya senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harpreet Kaur on Thursday.

The intelligence officers are interrogating the Chinese woman about the reasons that made her overstay her visa and her purpose to visit Bodh Gaya around the same time as the Dalai Lama.

The officials also informed that the Embassy of China in Delhi is also informed.

The security around the Tibetan Monastery in Gaya, where Dalai Lama is staying, is beefed up and Central forces like the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) have been deployed at various parts of the town. A close watch is being kept on everyone and even the resident Lamas being issued separate identity cards for entry into the premises.

The authorities have installed more than 100 CCTV cameras around Kalchakra Maidan.

According to the ANI report, the Chinese woman had been living in different parts of the country including Bodh Gaya for more than one year. However, there is no record in the foreign section about the stay of the Chinese woman, the report said.