A 29-year-old Chinese national who was detained last week in Kashmir was sent back to New Delhi on Wednesday evening.

Officials told news agency PTI that Hu Congtai has been deported to Hong Kong from Delhi.

The decision to deport and blacklist Congtai was taken after completion of the forensic examination of his mobile phone as he had visited places of strategic importance in Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, the agency reported.

The police have also booked the owner of a homestay in Budgam where Congtai had stayed.

The Chinese national was detained for unauthorised travel to Kashmir and Ladakh and was questioned by
multiple security agencies in Srinagar.

His detention prompted the police to lodge multiple FIRs against hotel, houseboat and homestay owners for their failure to report the stay of foreign nationals at their
facilities, which is a violation of the Immigration and Foreigners Act.

“The passenger’s visa is valid only for Varanasi, Agra, New Delhi, Jaipur, Sarnath, Gaya and Kushinagar. However, he entered Jammu & Kashmir without a valid visa,” the police said.

They said that Congtai was from Shenzhen, a city in Guangdong, China, and had arrived in New Delhi on November 19.

Despite restrictions, he travelled to Kashmir on December 1, prompting the police and intelligence agencies to question him for visa violations, the sources said.

Congtai was detained after being taken into custody from a homestay, Rose Cottage at Friends Enclave in Humhama, Budgam district. His phone was seized for examination and returned before he was sent back from Kashmir.

Officials said the Chinese national had allegedly obtained an Indian SIM card from the open market. “In Srinagar, he visited the ancient Buddhist site at Harwan, Shankaracharya Hills, Hazratbal shrine and the Mughal Gardens,” the official said.

The police said he was sent back to New Delhi after a thorough investigation. Before visiting Kashmir, Congtai had travelled to Zanskar in Ladakh.