Rattled China spying on 10,000 Indian citizens including President, PM Modi: Report

Amid the tensions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, a major revelation has found that China has hatched an espionage conspiracy against India. 

A Shenzen-based company named Zhenhua Data Information Technology Co. Limited has been tasked with monitoring over 10,000 prominent citizens including President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others, a report by The Indian Express has said.

Among the politicos, China has also spied on Zee News' Editor in Chief Sudhir Chaudhary. Notably, Zee News started a 'Made in India' campaign against Chinese goods and consistently reported against China's incursion on LAC.

The list includes President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi and their families, Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee, Ashok Gehlot and Amarinder Singh to Uddhav Thackeray, Naveen Patnaik and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Cabinet Ministers Rajnath Singh and Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nirmala Sitharaman, Smriti Irani, and Piyush Goyal, Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Singh Rawat and at least 15 former Chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force, Chief Justice of India Sharad Bobde and brother judge AM Khanwilkar, Lokpal Justice PC Ghose and Comptroller and Auditor General GC Murmu, start-up tech entrepreneurs like Nipun Mehra, founder of Bharat Pe (an Indian payment app), and Ajay Trehan of AuthBridge, an authentication technology firm, to top industrialists Ratan Tata and Gautam Adani, the report said.

Besides the ministers, it has also been learnt that the Chinese firm is monitoring bureaucrats in key positions, judges, scientists and academicians; journalists, actors and sportspersons, religious figures and activists, said the report. The company is also keeping an eye on many people accused of financial crime, corruption, terrorism, and smuggling of narcotics, gold, arms or wildlife.

Notably, Zhenhua also works with Chinese intelligence, military and security agencies.

The development comes at a time when New Delhi and Beijing have been engaged in a standoff since April-May over the transgressions by the Chinese Army in multiple areas including the Finger area, Galwan Valley, Hot springs, and Kongrung Nala.

The situation worsened after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with Chinese troops in Galwan valley in June.

The talks between the two sides have been going on for the last three months including five Lieutenant general-level talks but have failed to yield any results, so far.