Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Sunday (September 6) that the Indian Army has sent a hotline message to its counterpart in PLA establishment at the border point in Arunachal Pradesh about the 5 missing Indians reportedly abducted by the Chinese Army.
The Arunachal Pradesh police on Monday (September 7) said that the whereabouts of the five youths from a village in Upper Subansiri district along the India-China border is yet to be known.
The men had been engaged as porters and guides by the Indian Army.
Families of these missing men filed a report with the police on Friday (September 4) as they had gone for hunting in the jungle, part of a 7-member group.
China has completely denied any hand in these abductions and has asserted that it has never recognised the northeastern state which China claims is part of its south Tibet region.
“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,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a media briefing in Beijing, adding the Chinese government has never recognized the so-called “Arunachal Pradesh”.
When asked about the abducted Indians, the spokesperson said, “I’m not aware of the situation you mentioned about the missing Indian nationals.” However, the Chinese argument does not hold water because the two members from the group who had managed to escape informed the families of the other five that they had been kidnapped by the Chinese troops from Sera-7, an Army patrol zone located about 12 km further north of Nacho.
The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) condemned the Chinese statement: “The people of the State outrightly reject the dubious statement by Chinese Foreign Ministry dubbing our state as part of ‘South Tibet’.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju took to Twitter on Sunday to say the Indian army has already sent a hotline message to the PLA establishment at the border point in Arunachal Pradesh and that a response is awaited.
The Indian Army has already sent hotline message to the counterpart PLA establishment at the border point in Arunachal Pradesh. Response is awaited. https://t.co/eo6G9ZwPQ9
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) September 6, 2020
Tezpur-based Defence spokesman Lt Col Harshvarshan Pande said, “We have alerted our teams and are in constant touch with the civil administration.”
Earlier, talking about the incident, the SP Taru Gussar had said, “We came to know from local sources that five people belonging to the Tagin community were abducted by the PLA from a jungle near Nacho when they were out hunting”.
“We are trying to verify the fact and are in touch with the Army since there have been past instances of the PLA capturing locals from the LAC and releasing them,” the SP said.
The missing men have been identified as Toch Singkam, Prasat Ringling, Dongtu Ebiya, Tanu Baker and Ngaru Diri.
AAPSU president Hawa Bagang and General Secretary Tabom Dai in a joint statement said, “People of Arunachal Pradesh are proud Indians and staunch nationalists. We don’t need any recognition or validation from a foreign entity.”
“The recent incident is not an isolated case as time and again the PLA has been repeatedly indulging in similar antics whereby innocent civilians living at the inhospitable border areas are taken captive at regular intervals,” the union said in its statement.
In March, a 21-year-old man was abducted by the PLA from Asapila sector near the McMahon line while his two friends managed to escape as Togley Sinkam was taken away at gunpoint by the PLA, his family had said.