G20: Chaos over ‘suspicious bag’ with Chinese delegation, how 12-hour hotel stand-off ended

New Delhi: A five-star hotel in the national capital witnessed 12-hour long drama & chaos while the city welcomed foreign delegates from across the globe for the G20 Summit.

At the center of controversy stood a ‘suspicious bag’ with Chinese delegation, which first went ‘unchecked’ on account of ‘diplomatic baggage’ but later sent alarm bells ringing for the security agencies and hotel staff in conundrum.

The bag with ‘unusual dimensions’ was being carried by one of the members of Chinese delegation, which stayed at city’s Taj Palace Hotel for the G20 Summit.

According to reports, this led to arguments between security officials & Chinese delegation. The former insisted on scanning the mysterious bag while the latter negotiated against it. Eventually, they were allowed to respective hotel rooms owing to the diplomatic protocols.

It was after a hotel staff spotted suspicious equipment in the suspicious bag, that security officials swung into action and persuaded the Chinese delegation to get all their bags scanned. Chinese delegates though got other bags scanned but refused the same for that mysterious bag.

This led to a 12-hour long stand-off between Chinese officials and security personnel. A security staff was stationed outside the room of Chinese delegation where this bag was present.

Reports also suggest that the Chinese members also sought private internet network citing ‘privacy concerns’ over hotel’s internet, which was denied by the management.

Notably, it was only after Chinese delegates relented and agreed to send the bag back to Embassy, the stand-off could end.

The mysterious bag was sent back to Chinese embassy but the items inside bag continue to raise questions. Many feared presence of ‘spyware or surveillance equipments’, however, the same couldn’t be ascertained as the devices were not examined. However, intelligence officials are assuming that the bag could have some equipment, used for either intercepting calls or jamming secure communication channels.

The content of the suspicious bag, however remains a mystery till now.

For the unversed, Chinese President Xi Jinping pulled out of the G20 Summit in last minute. Chinese PM Li Qiang attended the Summit in his place.

Also, the G20 Summit turned out to be big diplomatic victory for India as 100% consensus was achieved for ‘New Delhi Declaration’ under India’s presidency. The G20 Summit was held in New Delhi on September 9 & 10.