The two Indians, who were virtually held captive by local traders in China's Yiwu trade hub, have now been shifted to a hotel for "safety" reasons by the police, even as India issued an advisory asking its traders to "stay away" from the busy commodity centre.

Police in Yiwu, a trade hub in Zhejiang province close to Shanghai, shifted Shyamsunder Agrewal and Deepak Raheja to a hotel where two policemen were deployed to guard them.

Indian diplomat S Balachandran was "manhandled" at a court and fainted as he tried to secure the release of the two traders on December 31, prompting India to lodge a protest.