(TibetanReview.net, Feb01’22) – Contrary to China’s claims, the 17-year-old boy the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had returned to India on Jan 27 has said he was kept tied and blind-folded almost throughout his nearly nine-day custody while also being kicked and electric shocked.
At the time of his handover to the Indian army, China claimed that the boy was found by a PLA team which was patrolling “Medog County of Xizang, China”. It added that the Chinese border defense troops carried out a routine inquiry and an epidemic prevention quarantine, and provided humanitarian aid.
However, Miram Taron, the abducted youth, has given an entirely different account of his treatment by the Chinese.
“He is still in shock. He was kicked in the back and given a mild electric shock initially. He was kept blindfolded most of the time and his hands were tied during captivity. They untied him only when it was time to eat or relieve himself. But they provided him with adequate food,” the dailypioneer.com Feb 1quoted Opang Taron, the boy’s father, as telling reporters.
Indian Army reunited Miram Taron with his parents at a function in Tuting in Upper Siang district on Jan 31 evening. Tuting is about 170 km north of district headquarters Yingkiong.
Earlier, the Chinese army had handed over Miram to the Indian Army on Jan 27 at the Wacha-Damai interaction point at Kibithu in Anjaw district, where he underwent quarantine and completed legal formalities.
Miram, a resident of Zido village in Upper Siang district, went missing while hunting close to the vaguely defined Line of Actual Control separating the two countries on January 18. The boy was abducted by the Chinese PLA on Jan 18 from Lungta Jor area near the Line of Actual Control when he went on a hunting trip with his friend Johny Yaying. Yaying managed to escape from the scene and report the matter to the authorities.
And the Indian Army alerted the Chinese side on Jan 20 about a missing person and, if found, for his safe return in accordance with the established protocols between the two sides.
Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,080-km boundary with Tibet under China’s occupation rule.