Ahead of Xi Jinping’s arrival in Chennai, police on Friday detained 11 Tibetans as they tried to hold a protest outside the ITC Grand Chola Hotel where the Chinese President will be staying.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at Chennai airport in the afternoon and was accorded a warm welcome with performances by folk dancers and musicians. He was received by Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit.

Jinping is in Chennai for the second India-China Informal Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Mahabalipuram about 60 km from here.

According to police, five Tibetans were detained when they assembled outside ITC Grand Chola Hotel where Xi will be staying and started shouting slogans against him.

Six Tibetans who came from Bengaluru were detained outside the Chennai airport as they tried to hold a black flag protest.

Earlier in the week, police had taken into custody eight Tibetans as they had planned to hold protest against the Chinese President.

Security has been tightened at Mahabalipuram and Chennai. The state police have deployed thousands of security forces to thwart any untoward incident and over 500 CCTV cameras have been installed at several places.

At least 43 special officers and over 10,000 policemen will be on duty on Friday and Saturday. The 10,000 policemen will stand guard from Chennai Airport to Mahabalipuram alongside the road on Friday and Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Core Group for Tibetan Cause on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take up the issue of human rights violations in Tibet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the informal summit at Mamallapuram near Chennai on 11 and 12 October.

The National Convener of Core Group for Tibetan Cause, RK Khrimey said the unresolved question of Tibet is a matter of great concern not only to the Tibetans in their homeland and in exile but also to India and rest of the world.

“Unfortunate self-immolation by over 153 Tibetans inside Tibet since 2009 is a clear indication of the gravity of human rights situation in Tibet under Chinese rule,” he said, adding Chinese government must take steps to improve the human rights situation.