E-Paper
Kashi flat rented to Chinese woman, police not informed, owner may be booked
Zhou Juhua, resident of Hunan province in China, arrived in New Delhi on January 29, a senior officer of the LIU said. Her visa is valid till September.
A 31-year-old Chinese woman was found staying in a Varanasi flat without the flat owner having given intimation to the police about renting out the premises to the foreign national amid the Covid-19 global pandemic, the police said.
Regional tourism officer Kirtiman Srivastava said the woman would be tested for the coronavirus as a precautionary measure.
Srivastava said a notice will be issued to the owners of PG (paying guest) accommodations to inform the police as soon as any guest shifts to their flat, house or any other accommodation.
An officer of the Local Intelligence Unit, who did not wish to be named, said a case would be registered against the flat owner because he didn’t inform police and LIU about renting his premises to the Chinese woman. As per rule, he should have informed LIU and police, the officer said.
Zhou Juhua, resident of Hunan province in China, arrived in New Delhi on January 29, a senior officer of the LIU said. Her visa is valid till September.
After having spent about three weeks in the national capital, she reached Varanasi on February 26, the LIU official added.
Initially staying in a hotel in the Dashashwamedh Ghat area of Varanasi till March 21, she shifted to the flat in Saket Nagar Colony under the Lanka police station limits on March 22, the official said.
She had to take the flat on rent as she was unable to return to Delhi due to suspension of flights and train services amid the Covid-19 lockdown, a police officer said.
Through her tourist guide, the woman contacted a flat owner who agreed to give the premises on rent to her. Later, the Local Intelligence Unit received information about the Chinese woman staying in the flat.
Bharat Bhushan Tiwari, station officer of Lanka police station, said information about the woman was received from the LIU on Monday.
An inspection confirmed the Chinese woman was living in the flat.
Flat owner Sambhav Chaturvedi, a resident of Varanasi, said that he was stuck in Patna due to the lockdown and therefore could not inform the police. He said he agreed to give the flat to her on rent when he was informed by the tourist guide that the Chinese woman was stranded in Varanasi due to the lockdown.
