Earlier this week, the Chinese Army had confirmed its presence in the country (Representational)
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army or PLA will deliver the five men from Arunachal Pradesh, who went missing earlier this month, to India on Saturday, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted.
“The Chinese PLA has confirmed to the Indian Army that it will hand over the youth of Arunachal Pradesh to our side. The handover is likely to take place tomorrow, that is, on September 12, 2020 at a designated location,” he wrote.
The Chinese PLA has confirmed to the Indian Army that it will hand over the youth of Arunachal Pradesh to our side. Delivery is likely to take place anytime tomorrow, that is, September 12, 2020 at a designated location. https://t.co/UaM9IIZl56
– Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) September 11, 2020
The five men missing since September 1 were hunters, the army had said in a statement. The locals, however, said they were porters.
Earlier this week, the Chinese military had confirmed its presence in the country.
“As a result of the persistent efforts of the Indian Army, five missing hunters from the Indian side of LAC in Upper Subansiri, who had inadvertently crossed to the other side on September 2, 2020, were located. On September 8, the Chinese Army responded by direct line and confirmed that the disappeared indigenous have been found on his side, ”the Army had said in a statement.
The Indo-Tibetan army and border police use locals as porters, guides and scouts during long-range patrols (LRP). They need help from the porters to transport supplies at all strategic points along the McMahon Line, the effective border between India and China.
Sources say that porters and guides after leaving cargo at outposts often go to higher altitudes to hunt mask deer or gather herbs such as “gumba.” Venison mask and gumba, a traditional medicine, have great prices on the international gray market. It is possible that the five men wandered off while seeking to hunt or gather herbs.
India and China have been locked in a military confrontation in eastern Ladakh since May, when the PLA entered Indian territory. Several rounds of military and ministerial talks have led to China’s only partial withdrawal from the Galwan Valley, where, in June, 20 Indian soldiers had been killed in the line of duty in a clash with Chinese troops.
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