(TibetanReview.net, Sep09’20) – The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of the Communist Party of China has told the Indian Army Sep 8 that five young men from Arunachal Pradesh previously reported abducted by it across the border with India on Sep 2 had been found by it on Tibetan territory under its control.
Two other Arunachal residents had earlier reported that the five youths, belonging to the Tagin tribe, had been abducted by PLA soldiers. The incident took place in Sera-7 on the Indian side of the McMohan Line bifurcating Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet.
“China’s PLA has responded to the hotline message sent by Indian Army. They have confirmed that the missing young men from Arunachal Pradesh have been found. Further modalities to hand over the persons to us is being worked out,” Kiren Rijiju, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Arunachal West and India’s junior Home Minister, tweeted on Sep 8 evening.
“We came to know about the suspected apprehension of the five young men on Sep 3. Two days later we sent a hotline message to PLA regarding the whereabouts of these men. Finally, on Tuesday afternoon, PLA sent a message, informing {that} they have been found,” hindustantimes.com Sep 9 quoted Lt Col Harsh Wardhan Pande, an army spokesperson based in Tezpur, Assam, as saying.
“The young men, who were hunting in the area, inadvertently crossed over to the other side. The PLA has informed us that they all are okay. Formalities for their early transfer are being coordinated with the Chinese side,” he was reported to have added.
On Sep 7, China’s party mouthpiece Global Times had tweeted, quoting Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, that his government had no information to release on the five missing youths while explaining: “China has never recognized so-called Arunachal Pradesh, which is China’s south Tibet region.”
