The five youths from Arunachal Pradesh who had crossed the border to the Chinese side earlier this month would be returned to India on Saturday, the union’s sports minister, Kiren Rijiju, reported.
“The Chinese PLA has confirmed to the Indian Army that it will hand over the youth of Arunachal Pradesh to our side. The delivery is likely to take place at any time tomorrow ie September 12, 2020 at a designated location, ”tweeted Rijiju, representing BJP from the Arunachal West seat, on Friday evening.
The five young men from the Tagin tribe, who used to work as porters for the Indian Army, had reportedly disappeared on 2 September from Sera-7 on the Indian side of the McMohan Line that bifurcates Arunachal Pradesh and the autonomous region of the Tibet (TAR) of China.
After his disappearance, a brother of one of the young men posted on social media that they had been “kidnapped” by the EPL. Tapir Gao, a BJP MP from Arunachal East, and the MLA Congress from Pasighat Ninong Ering made the same accusation in their tweets.
In response to a hotline message sent by the Indian military, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army reported Tuesday that the youths had been found on their side and their condition was fine.
“The young men, who were hunting in the area, had inadvertently crossed to the other side. The PLA informed us that they are all fine. The formalities for their early transfer are being coordinated with the Chinese side, ”Lt. Col. Harsh Wardhan Pande, PRO (Defense), Tezpur, Assam said Tuesday.
The disappearance of the youths and the accusation of their “kidnapping” by the EPL had added to the greater tension between the two countries.
On Monday, the Global Times, affiliated with the state of China, tweeted quoting Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian: “China has never recognized the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’, which is the southern Tibet region of China, and we still do not have details on the question about sending the Indian army a message to the PLA about five disappeared indigenous people in the region ”.
.
