Chauntra (Mandi), June 13
The police and intelligence agencies have so far not found “any evidence of spying or any security threat to the Dalai Lama following the arrest of eight Taiwanese nationals from Chauntra in Mandi district where they were staying in a highly fenced palatial residence, which is under construction, and worked as “interior designers and painters”.

They have been arrested under the Foreigners Act as they have valid tourist visas but are not registered with the local police station, which is mandatory. The police is zeroing in on a Tibetan woman, whom the caretaker of the house, Chetan, calls “amma” and who fled from the palatial house just before the police raid.

@The police seized Rs 29.63 lakh and $3,000, besides Rs 2,000 in Nepalese currency from two chests. However, the third chest was found open with only rubber bands in it, indicating that the woman gave the police the slip and disappeared with the currency in it. The police has booked the caretaker, Chetan, whose origins remain uncertain as he is yet to show his registration certificate, which is mandatory for Tibetan refugees in India. He has been booked under the Income Tax Act and the Essential Commodities Act as the police has seized three LPG cylinders from the spot.

The police also seized three iphones and a laptop and 29 used bottles of liquor from the plush house, which is still under construction, indicating that they had a lavish lifestyle while working in the highly fenced house as interior designers and painters.

The police has seized paint-stained clothes of the eight Taiwanese nationals along with five SIM cards issued by a Chauntra dealer, which is a violation of the law as the local address and identity proofs are required for issuing SIM cards.

The tourist visas of the three arrested Taiwanese nationals - Huang Tau-Yan, Chen Chi Hsiung and Hu Chiu Pin - were issued at Taipei city on February 7, 2012.

Two others - Chou Chinte and Chen Kuo Pin - were issued visas on May 1, 2012. However, the remaining threee were issued visas at Taipei city on different dates in January and March this year, the police said.

What raises a needle of suspicion is that five of them arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on April 6, while the remaining three arrived at the airport on May 5.

The police has failed to interrogate them as they speak in their native language and did not respond to police and media queries when they were taken for a medical examination.

The Ministry of External Affairs has sought police investigation into the seized money and the land on which the palatial house is coming up.

Jogindernagar SDM Ratan Gautam said over 850 bighas were allotted in the name of a Tibetan society soon after the Dalai Lama arrived and made Dharamsala his abode. However, the land had further been allotted by the society in the name of different individuals, said settlement officer Tanzin of the Teigi Department, Tibetan government-in-exile, Chauntra.

Tanzin said they were not sure as to whom the house belonged to. “I have brought the matter to the notice of the Tibetan ministry concerned and we will go by the state police investigation,” he added.

Mandi SP Abhishek Dular, who is monitoring the investigation, said, “There is no evidence of the eight Taiwanese nationals spying for China and posing a security threat to the Dalai Lama.”

He said they had informed the Diplomatic Affairs Department to verify their visas and passports. “We are trying to trace the woman who fled from the spot,” he added.