In what is being considered to be a significant development, Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said that five persons from Arunachal Pradesh, who went missing on Friday, have been found in the Chinese territory.
In a recent development, China’s People’s Liberation Army has confirmed that the missing youths from Arunachal Pradesh have been found by their side and added that the modalities on the handover process are being worked out.
Rijiju, the Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister and an MP from Arunachal Pradesh, said in a tweet: “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 on their side. Further modalities to handover the persons to our authority are being worked out.”
Earlier in the day, Congress’ deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, had urged Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to ensure the safe return of the five youths from Arunachal Pradesh.
“I am writing to you to register my grave concern regarding the condition of the five young men from Arunachal Pradesh who have gone missing from the Upper Subansiri district during a hunting exercise. Their family members have made statements alleging that they have been abducted, holding the Chinese People’s Liberation Army responsible for the incident,” Gogoi wrote to Rajnath Singh.
India has accused China of kidnapping five of its citizens along the disputed Himalayan border. Rijiju in his previous tweet said, a “hotline message” had been sent from the Indian army to its Chinese counterparts over reports in the Indian media that five men hunting near the border were allegedly detained by Chinese troops.”
The Indian Army also asked it has asked its Chinese counterpart if five Indian civilians who went missing from an eastern border state days ago were in their custody
The state’s Directorate of Information and Public Relations had earlier tweeted: “Arunachal Govt is closely monitoring the case of 5 missing boys in Nacho village, Upper Subansiri District. District Administration has been directed to assist all concerned agencies to trace the missing boys.”
The local media in Arunachal Pradesh had also reported that the reported kidnappings occurred in a forest area near Nacho in Upper Subansiri. According to media reports, the abducted persons — Toch Singkam, Prasat Ringling, Dongtu Ebiya, Tanu Baker and Ngaru Diri, all from the Tagin community — had gone to the forest for hunting. Two other villagers, who had managed to flee the spot, had informed the other villagers.
The India-China border is about 170 km from Daporijo, the headquarters of Upper Subansiri district, which itself is 280 km from state capital Itanagar. A team from the Nacho police station has been sent to the forward area village. Arunachal Pradesh’s northeast section shares a 1,080 km-long border with China.
With Inputs from IANS