Twenty Five doctors stuck in China after tour operator fails to pay Chinese agency

With the Indian embassy shut on Saturday and Sunday in China, the MMA has written to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to aid in their safe return.

The MMA arranges for an annual foreign tour for its doctor members. This year, a week-long trip was arranged to Macau, Hong Kong and Shenzhen. “In January we paid Rs 92,500 per person to Oppex Holidays, which was contacted by the association’s management,” said Dr Sanjay Mehra, currently in Shenzhen with his family.
The doctors paid an additional fee to Oppex Holidays to procure their visas. According to MMA, three batches of doctors were supposed to visit China. When the first batch of 70 doctors went, Oppex Holidays made 30 per cent payment to Chinese tour agency Freedom Travels that it contacted for the tour.

On May 16, the second group of 25 doctors, including their family members, left for Hong Kong. On May 18, they were informed that Oppex Holidays had not made payment to Freedom Travels. On Saturday, their entire itinerary, including food, accommodation, was cancelled by the Chinese tour agency.

When contacted, Oppex Holidays owner Vinayak Zarekar refused to comment over the reasons for delay in payment to the Chinese agency. “I am trying to process it. My priority is to ensure they are safe. I cannot comment further,” he said.

“We tried to contact Oppex Holidays from here. Initially, he (Zarekar) said he will make the payment. But now he has stopped answering our calls,” Mehra said. The Chinese agency has demanded Rs 20 lakh before permitting the doctors to leave. The MMA lodged a complaint against Oppex Holidays with Dahisar police under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code on Saturday. According to Vinay Rathod, DCP (Zone XII), the police is trying to trace owner Vinayak Zarekar’s whereabouts.

“We are in touch with the doctors in China. We are trying to resolve the issue from here,” Rathod said, adding that Zarekar continues to remain absconding.

On Sunday, the 12 families of doctors were asked to vacate their rooms in Central Plaza Hotel, Shenzhen. “We have been sitting in the lobby since morning. The tour officials are standing in front of us. We can’t go anywhere until they receive their payment,” Mehra said. The doctors also attempted to reach a local police station in China but remained unsuccessful.

The MMA members along with touring doctors’ families are pooling in money to pay the Chinese agency.
MMA’s president Dr Hemal Barchha wrote to Swaraj on Saturday to intervene in the matter claiming “the doctors have been held hostage and their passports have been held”.

“A lot of my doctor colleagues went for this trip. The entire arrangement was looked after by the Malad Medical Association,” Dr Vipin Checker, president-elect of Association of Medical Consultants, said.
According to Dr Rajiv Borlepwar, attached with MMA, the management has been trying to trace the Borivali-based tour operator since two days. The MMA was not aware that he paid only 30 per cent of entire trip cost to the Chinese travel agency until the latter demanded money from doctors in China.

The doctors also blame the medical association for fixing Zarekar without checking his background. Their return flight is scheduled from Hong Kong on May 23. “They will not allow us to leave Shenzhen until we pay them. We do not have so much cash,” Shomu Mehra, who is also a part of the trip, said.
Barchha, MMA’s president, told The Indian Express, “We are paying the agency from here for now to at least keep the trip moving. The doctors should be able to return to India.”