A 50-year-old Chinese woman, who was arrested for posing as a Nepalese national and living disguised as a Buddhist nun in a Tibetan colony in Delhi was allegedly spying for China to influence exiled Tibetans, said sources.
Cai Ruo, alias Dolma Lama, was arrested by Delhi Police Special Cell on October 17 for staying illegally in India. Now it has emerged that she was living in Majnu Ka Tilla, a hub of Tibetan refugees in North Delhi to influence Tibetans. Ruo was living disguised as a Buddhist nun.
In 2011, however, the Chinese foreign ministry had declared that only the government in Beijing can appoint the next Dalai Lama. It would not recognise any other succession candidate. One of the ways in which China is allegedly trying to influence the selection process is by pumping spies among exiled Tibetans.
“As the apprehension of appointment of new Dalai Lama has been enhanced, China is trying to pump ‘spies’ among Tibetans to influence their choice of Dalai Lama, so that the next Dalai Lama can be a pro-China one,” said an officer privy to the interrogation of Ruo.
Before Ruo, Charlie Peng alias Luo Sang, who was arrested in 2020, was also found to be involved in spying on Tibetans in India. Under disguise, he had married a girl from Mizoram in India to easily conduct his activities, said the officer.
Ruo has been interrogated by various security agencies including IB and RAW after being arrested by Special Cell. Now she has been sent to 14 days of Judicial Custody. Chinese Embassy has been informed about her arrest.
She was arrested from North Delhi’s Majnu Ka Tilla, which is a hub of Tibetans on October 17. She had come to visit a monastery in Majnu Ka Tilla when the sleuths of Special Cell nabbed her based on intelligence inputs.
Security agencies sources told The New Indian, Ruo was staying in monasteries in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh for the past two months. She revealed during the interrogation that she adopted Buddhism at least a year back.
She initially revealed that she fled the country because she was involved in a crime in China. To protect herself from Chinese authorities she had taken Nepalese citizenship and changed her identity from Cai Rou to Dolma Lama. The agencies however, didn’t believe her claims.
She also said her sister runs a guest house in China who gave her financial help to stay in India. She also claimed that she came to India to practice Buddhism. The agencies are still verifying all her claims.
Ruo came to India in 2019 on a Chinese passport for the first time. She has visited India multiple times since then. She underwent one year compulsory military training.
Electronic gadgets like e-books and mobile phones were recovered from her and have been sent for forensic examination.