Five youth missing from Arunachal Pradesh found: Kiren Rijiju

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New Delhi, Sept 8, 2020: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday asserted that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has confirmed that five youths missing from Arunachal Pradesh have been found by them. Taking to the micro-blogging site, Twitter, Rijiju added that the PLA responded to the hotline message sent by the Indian Army and the handing over process of the youth to Indian authorities is being worked out.

The five youths had gone missing on September 4 from the Sino-Indian border in the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh. China had on September 7 brushed off concerns over the whereabouts of the youths from a village in Arunachal Pradesh allegedly abducted by the PLA and said it has never recognised the northeastern state which it claims is part of south Tibet.

"China’s PLA has responded to the hotline message sent by Indian Army. They have confirmed that the missing youths from Arunachal Pradesh have been found by their side. Further modalities to handover the persons to our authority is being worked out," Rijiju tweeted.

"As a result of persistent efforts of Indian Army five missing hunters from the Indian side of LAC in Upper Subansiri, who had inadvertently crossed over to the other side on 02 Sept 2020, were traced. Chinese Army on 08 Sept responded on Hotline and confirmed that the missing Indians have been found on their side. Formalities for their early transfer is being coordinated with the Chinese Army.," confirmed the Defence PRO Tezpur.

The Indian Army had told its Chinese counterpart about the five civilians, who were engaged as guides and porters by the Army in the Upper Subansiri district on the Sino-India border, on September 5. Those allegedly kidnapped have been identified as Toch Singkam, Prasat Ringling, Dongtu Ebiya, Tanu Baker and Ngaru Diri. The Arunachal villagers had gone for hunting in a jungle when they were allegedly kidnapped by the PLA.

Two members of the group reportedly returned home and informed that they had been whisked away by the Chinese troops from Sera-7, an Army patrol zone located about 12 km further north of Nacho, which is the last administrative circle along the McMahon Line and is around 120 km from the district headquarters Daporijo.

"We spoke with them on the hotline and told them that it’s suspected that some people have crossed across to your side and we will be grateful if you could hand them over back, as per what we do normally," Lieutenant Colonel Harsh Wardhan Pande, an Indian Army spokesman, told news agency Reuters.

"There is no earmarked line going through the forest or the mountains, so they keep moving here and there. So they might have gone there. It’s a very normal thing," he said, adding they were yet to hear back from the Chinese.

On September 7, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a media briefing in Beijing, "China’s position on the eastern sector of the China-India boundary, or Zangnan--the southern part of China’s Xizang (Tibet), is consistent and clear." He added the Chinese government has never recognized the so-called "Arunachal Pradesh". "I’m not aware of the situation you mentioned," the Chinese spokesperson said when asked about any updates about the missing Indian nationals.

The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) has condemned the Chinese statement dubbing the state as part of "South Tibet".  "The people of the state outrightly reject the dubious statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry dubbing our state as part of ’South Tibet’. We strongly condemn such statements and advise the Chinese government to refrain from such notoriety," the union said in a statement in Itanagar.

The development comes at a time when the Indian army has enhanced its deployment along the 3,400 km-long Line of Actual Control(LAC) in view of the tense border row between India and China in eastern Ladakh.