5 Civilians Who Went Missing from Arunachal Pradesh to Be Handed over by China Today

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would hand over the youths, who had gone missing from Arunachal Pradesh, on Saturday at a designated location.

China will hand over the five Indian nationals at Wacha near Kibithu border personnel meeting point, said Army sources later.

The PLA had earlier confirmed that the missing youths were found by their side and that the modalities on the handover process were being worked out. The development came after Rijiju said the Indian Army had sent a hotline message to the establishment of PLA at the border point.

“The Chinese PLA has confirmed to Indian Army to hand over the youths from Arunachal Pradesh to our side. The handing over is likely to take place anytime tomorrow i.e. 12th September 2020 at a designated location,” Rijiju said in a tweet on Friday.

Earlier on Saturday, a senior Arunachal Pradesh police officer had said that the cops had launched a probe after reports stated that five people, who had gone hunting in a forest in Upper Subansiri district on the Sino-India border, were allegedly kidnapped by the Chinese military.

The incident occurred last Friday in Nacho area of the district. Two others, who were in the group, managed to escape and informed police. Those reportedly kidnapped have been identified as Toch Singkam, Prasat Ringling, Dongtu Ebiya, Tanu Baker and Ngaru Diri. All of them belong to the Tagin community.

Their relatives who are living at district headquarters Daporijo, said that some of their relatives had left for Nacho Saturday morning to discuss the matter with the Indian Army. Nacho is around 120 kilometers from the district headquarters.

The incident comes at a time when the Indian army has heightened its deployment along the 3,400 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) amid tensions at the border with China in eastern Ladakh. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a media briefing in Beijing that “China’s position on the east sector of the China-India boundary, or Zangnan (the southern part of China’s Xizang (Tibet) ), is consistent and clear.” He added that the Chinese government has never recognised the “so-called Arunachal Pradesh”.