Families Say Chinese Army Abducted 5 Boys from Arunachal Pradesh Who Went Hunting Near the Border

The Chinese army has reportedly abducted five youths who had gone hunting in a forest in Upper Subansiri district on the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh, amid escalating tensions along the border in eastern Ladakh.

According to local media reports, the five were abducted from the Sera 7 patrolling point in Under Nacho Circle. The five people have been identified as Dumtu Ebiya, Prasad Ringling, Ngaru Deri, Toch Singkom, and Tanu Bakar. All of them belong to the Tagin community. Their family members living at district headquarters Daporijo said some of their relatives had left for Nacho on Saturday morning to discuss the matter with the Indian Army.

News agency PTI reported that two others who were in the group managed to escape and informed the police. “I have sent the officer-in-charge of the Nacho police station to the area to verify the facts and directed him to report immediately. However, the report will be available only by Sunday morning,” Superintendent of Police Taru Gussar said.

Nacho is around 120 km from the district headquarters. The families urged the authorities to take steps to bring them back.

Taking a swipe at the Centre, Congress MLA Ninong Ering said the abduction took place while Defence Minister Rajanth Singh was meeting his Chinese counterpart in Russia to discuss the latest round of border confrontation.

“China’s PLA (People’s Liberation Army) has abducted 5 boys from Nacho, Upper Subansiri in Arunachal Pradesh. This has happened at a time when Rajanath Singh is meeting defence ministers of Russia & China. PLA’s action has sent a very wrong message,” the Pasighat West MLA tweeted.

India and China on Friday held the highest level face-to-face political discussions since tensions flared in May. Defence minister Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers’ meeting in Moscow.

Sources said that during the talks Singh insisted on restoration of the status quo ante in eastern Ladakh and disengagement of troops in an expeditious way. “The meeting between Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh and Chinese Defence Minister, General Wei Fenghe in Moscow is over. The meeting lasted for 2 hours and 20 minutes,” Singh’s office tweeted.

Tensions flared up again in the Ladakh region after China unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in the southern bank of Pangong lake five days ago when the two sides were engaged in diplomatic and military talks to resolve the border row. India occupied a number of strategic heights on the southern bank of Pangong lake and strengthened its presence in Finger 2 and Finger 3 areas in the region to thwart any Chinese actions. China has strongly objected to India’s move. India has, however, maintained that the strategic heights are on its side of the LAC.

India has also rushed in additional troops and weapons to the sensitive region following China’s transgression attempts. The tension between the two sides had escalated manifold after the violent clashes in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details. According to an American intelligence report, the number of casualties on the Chinese side was 35.