The case of Alimu Pilliwaldi, a Chinese tourist arrested at the Attari border on Friday for entering India without a valid visa, continues to baffle Indian security agencies. Unable to speak Hindi or English, Pilliwaldi is being held in judicial custody and has asked for assistance from the Chinese Embassy. Chinese authorities, however, have not yet responded to his appeals.

Pilliwaldi was reportedly travelling to Pakistan through the Attari border when immigration officials and the Border Security Force (BSF) detained him. Through a translator, he told police and BSF officials that he intended to visit Pakistan and had entered India through its soft border with Nepal. Pilliwaldi said that he had secured a visa for Pakistan, but not for India, in the neighbouring Himalayan state. In addition, a BSF official observed, “He tried to cross through a restricted land-route that requires special permission.” A police officer added, “He seems to be innocent, but we will not be taking any chances and various agencies will be questioning him.”

On his arrest, the local judicial magistrate ordered Pilliwaldi be immediately remanded in custody and sent to the high-security Central Jail. Jail superintendent S.P. Singh said, “He asked us to contact the Chinese Embassy. We have conveyed the message of his arrest to the Embassy through the Ministry of Home Affairs. He is being kept in a separate cell, where other foreign national are also held.”