Arunachal Pradesh: India accuses Chinese army of arresting 17-year-old Indian youth
The Indian Army has stepped up its search for a 17-year-old boy who went missing from the international border between India and China in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
An army spokesman in the Tezpur area of Assam said: "A 17-year-old Meram from Arunachal Pradesh has been arrested by the Chinese army on the other side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Upon receiving the information, the Indian Army immediately contacted the Chinese Army on the hotline. The Chinese military has been called in to help find him and return him in accordance with protocol.
In fact, earlier Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Arunachal Pradesh Tapir Gao had accused the Chinese army of entering Arunachal Pradesh and kidnapping the boy.
The BJP MP also tweeted in this regard on January 19.
Miram Tarom went hunting with a friend near the Chinese border on Tuesday.
Upper Siang District Deputy Commissioner Shashant Sorbh told the BBC that the incident took place on January 18, but because of the difficult terrain, he received the information only when the boy's friend ran away and returned.
"We only found out about the whole incident last evening. The Indian Army is working to bring the boy back and every effort is being made by the district administration.
In response to a question, the deputy commissioner said that they live in a village near the border and are tribal. "These people often go hunting. This happened at the same time."
Earlier in September 2020, the Chinese army had abducted five youths from Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Subansari district, but they were released about a week later after the Indian Army intervened.
Responding to a question, Sashant Soorbh said, "I took over as Deputy Commissioner a week ago. I have also learned from the media that the boys of Arunachal Pradesh were abducted by the Chinese army. But no such incident has been reported in recent days, especially in this district. I'm looking for more details. "1/2
— Tapir Gao (@TapirGao) January 19, 2022
Chinese #PLA has abducted Sh Miram Taron, 17 years of Zido vill. yesterday 18th Jan 2022 from inside Indian territory, Lungta Jor area (China built 3-4 kms road inside India in 2018) under Siyungla area (Bishing village) of Upper Siang dist, Arunachal Pradesh. pic.twitter.com/ecKzGfgjB7
Mahin says people from several villages along the Chinese border work as porters with the Indian army. When military personnel patrol the border, they take local villagers with them.
Since Chinese and Indian troops have fought each other in these areas many times, this may be the reason behind the capture of these young men.
In addition, many relatives of the Tagan tribal community living in China also reside in India. Until a few years ago, people on both sides could have come, but with the escalation of border tensions with China, everything has come to a standstill.
There is a 3400 km long border between India and China from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh called the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Disputes along this line have led to several clashes between India and China in recent times.