NEW DELHI, Sep 12: After initially denying any knowledge of the whereabouts of five youths from Arunachal Pradesh, who allegedly strayed across the border into China during an expedition to hunt and collect medicinal herbs, Chinese army on Saturday handed them over to the Indian authorities 10 days after they were reported “missing,” Indian Army officials confirmed.
“Indian Army took over all five individuals at Kibithu on 12 September, 2020 after completing all necessary formalities,” Lieutenant Colonel Harsh Wardhan Pande, PRO (Defence) based at Tezpur in Assam said in a release.
“The individuals will now be quarantined for 14 days as per Covid-19 protocol and thereafter be handed over to their family members,” it added.
Union sports minister and BJP MP from Arunachal West Kiren Rijiju tweeted: “All the five Indian youths from Arunachal Pradesh who were received at Kibithu by our Army from PLA are fit and fine. However, they will be quarantined for a specified period.”
According to the army, this was the third such instance of youths from Arunachal Pradesh living near the Indo-China border straying inadvertently to the other side of line of actual control (LAC) during “adventurous forays”.
“Indian Army has always been proactive in tracing the lost locals and helping them return home. Three such incidents took place in the current year in Upper Subansiri and West Siang district including the latest one,” the release said.
“All such individuals were brought back home safely after consistent efforts and coordination by Indian Army in the past,” it added.
The five youths from Tagin tribe, who used to work as porters for Indian Army, had gone missing on September 2 reportedly from Sera-7 in Upper Subansiri district on the Indian side of the McMohan line bifurcating Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet autonomous region (TAR) of China.
Following their disappearance, a brother of one of the missing youths posted on social media that they had been ‘abducted’ by the People’s Liberation Army. The same accusation was made by Tapir Gao, BJP MP from Arunachal East and Congress MLA from Pasighat Ninong Ering in their tweets.
Responding to a hotline message sent by Indian Army, the PLA had informed on Tuesday that the youths have been found on the Chinese side and their condition was fine. Their disappearance at the time of heightened tension between the two armies in eastern Ladakh and the allegation of their ‘abduction’ by PLA had added to the acrimony between the two countries.
On Monday, China’s state affiliated Global Times tweeted quoting Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian. “China has never recognized so called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’, which is China’s south Tibet region, and we have no details to release yet about the question on Indian Army sending message to PLA about five missing Indians in the region”.
(Manas Dasgupta)