Authorities in Arunachal Pradesh (AP) have not yet received word on the whereabouts of the five men allegedly abducted by troops from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Upper Subansiri district on Thursday.
A police team was dispatched to verify the incident after reports surfaced on social media about the missing men. But the team has yet to return from the remote location of the border. Authorities said there was no confirmation that the kidnappings had occurred.
“The incident could have occurred, but we have not received any complaint about the disappearance of the men from any of their relatives. We know about the incident only from local sources, ”Taru Gussar, Superintendent of Police (SP), Upper Subansiri told HT by phone on Sunday.
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The missing reports of the men, who used to work as porters for the Indian military, emerged on Friday after Prakash Ringling, brother of one of the five missing persons, posted about it on social media. He mentioned that the alleged kidnapping took place in Sera-7, which is located on the border between India and China.
The missing men have been identified as Tanu Bakar, Prasad Ringling, Ngaru Diri, Dongtu Ebiya and Toch Singkam. Two other men, who were also with the five missing, reportedly managed to escape.
Reports of the incident were shared on social media by Tapir Gao of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which represents the Arunachal East constituency in Lok Sabha. He claimed that the men belonged to the Tagin tribe and were abducted from the Indian side of the McMohan Line which bifurcates the larger and less populated state of the Northeast and China’s Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).
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Congressional legislator Ninong Ering, who represents Pasighat West in the Arunachal legislative assembly, also tweeted about the incident.
“A team from the Nacho police station went to the border area on Saturday to carry out an investigation. But as of Sunday afternoon we have not received any reports from them. The area is remote and the condition of the road has worsened due to heavy rains during the monsoon, ”said Gussar.
“It is premature to say what happened until the team presents its report. If there are no roadblocks due to landslides, the team is expected to return either late Sunday or Monday, ”said the SP.
The border area, where the alleged incident occurred, is about a 14-day walk from Nacho, who is about 60 kilometers (km) from Daporijo, the headquarters of the Upper Subansiri district.
The district authorities have also been unable to contact Indian army officers at the border due to a problem in the telecommunications link.
“The men belong to my constituency. But there is no confirmation yet on whether there was any kidnapping. Since the area is inaccessible, there are not many details available yet. Their relatives have not approached the police either, “said Nakap Nalo, the state tourism minister and legislator for the Nacho constituency.
Earlier, on March 21, Togley Singkam (21) from Upper Subansiri District, who had crossed into TAR while searching for herbs, was detained by Chinese security agencies.
He returned on April 7 after talks between representatives of the Indian army and the PLA.
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