New Delhi, Jan 2 (IANS) India Monday summoned the Chinese deputy chief of mission here to lodge a protest over the alleged ill-treatment of an Indian diplomat in Shanghai who was denied medical assistance when he was offering consular assistance to two Indians in a court.

According to reports, S. Balachandran — a diabetes patient who is posted in the Indian consulate in Shanghai, during a five-hour long hearing China’s Yiwu city was not allowed to eat or leave the courtroom when he suspected his blood sugar level had started fluctuating rapidly.

According to diplomatic sources, Balachandran, in his mid-40s, is reported to have collapsed in the courtroom and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

The sources, refusing to be named, said the matter has been “strongly” taken up with the Chinese embassy in New Delhi because the diplomat should have been allowed access to medical treatment when his health condition worsened.

The deputy chief in China’s diplomatic mission was called to the ministry of external affairs here.

The consul general in Shanghai has also spoken with the government of the province where Yiwu is situated.