New developments have come to light in the ongoing probe into the Chinese espionage racket which led to the arrest of Indian journalist Rajeev Sharma, a Chinese woman Qin Shi and her Nepalese associate Sher Singh alias Raj Bohra. Investigators have now found that Shi was asked to get details of top officials who were working in important ministries, including the Prime Minister’s office.
Investigators have also revealed that Shi was tasked with obtaining information on Dalai Lama’s treatment, including details about his doctors apart from hospitals he visited for a check-up and the medicine he took.
According to investigators, a monk at the Mahabodhi temple introduced Shi to a woman in Kolkata sometime in late 2019. She was told that the woman will give her documents in English and she has to translate them into Mandarin.
After translation, the documents were to be sent to senior functionaries in the Chinese security establishment. Investigating officers say teams have been dispatched to Kolkata and other places to question those who were in touch with Shi.
During the investigation, it was revealed that shell companies were also being operated by foreign intelligence to transfer funds to journalist Rajeev Sharma.
Two Chinese nationals — Jhang Chang and his wife Chang-li-lia — were running the companies, MZ Pharmacy and MZ Malls, under fake names — Suraj and Usha.
They are both in China and on their behalf, Qing Shi and one Raj Bhora, a Nepali national (both directors of MZ Pharmacy), were operating the business from Mahipalpur.
Sources say Indian journalist Rajeev Sharma was also in constant touch with Shi. Analysis of electronic gadgets, including laptops recovered from Shi’s residence in Vasant Kunj, is being carried out to trace her contacts.
Between 2010 and 2014, journalist Rajeev Sharma wrote a weekly column for Global Times, widely known as a mouthpiece of the Chinese government.
Observing those columns, one Chinese intelligence agent named Michael from Kunming city of China contacted Rajeev Sharma through his Linkedin account and invited him to Kunming for an interview in a Chinese media company, police said.
The entire trip was funded by Michael.
During the meeting, Michael and his junior, Xou, asked Rajeev Sharma to provide inputs on various aspects of India-China relations.
Between 2016 and 2018, journalist Rajeev Sharma was in contact with Michael and Xou. He was tasked with providing information on Indian deployment on the Bhutan-Sikkim-China tri-junction, including Doklam, the pattern of India-Myanmar military co-operation, and the India-China boundary issue among other key issues.
Subsequently, Rajeev Sharma met Michael and Xou in Laos and Maldives and briefed them on these topics.
Besides these visits, journalist Rajeev Sharma was also in contact with Michael and Xou through e-mail and social media.
Rajeev Sharma’s bail application was rejected On Wednesday. Meanwhile, Qin Shi and Sher Bahadur are still in judicial custody.