Indian soldiers unarmed and caught in Chinese clash, families say

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian soldiers who died in hand-to-hand combat with Chinese troops last month were unarmed and surrounded by a force majeure on a steep hill, Indian government sources said, two soldiers deployed to the area and the families of fallen men.

One of the Indian soldiers had his throat cut with metal nails in the dark, his father told Reuters, saying he had been told by a fellow soldier that he was there.

Others died in the icy waters of the Galwan River in the western Himalayas, relatives of witnesses reported.

Twenty Indian soldiers died in the June 15 clash on the de facto border that separates the two armies. All the soldiers belonged to the 16th Bihar Regiment deployed in the Galwan region.

They were not fired, but it was the largest loss of life in combat among nuclear-armed neighbors since 1967, when the simmering border dispute erupted into deadly battles.

Reuters spoke to relatives of 13 of the men who were killed, and in five cases they produced death certificates listing the terrible injuries sustained during the six-hour nightly confrontation at 14,000 feet (4,267 meters) amid remote and arid mountains.

Reuters contacted the military hospital in the Ladakh region of India where the bodies were taken. The hospital declined to comment on the cause of death and said the bodies were sent to families along with death certificates.

Reuters also spoke to two Bihar Regiment soldiers deployed to the area, who were among those who accompanied the bodies of fallen colleagues to their homes in the area. They were not directly involved in hand-to-hand combat.

Soldiers cannot be named due to military rules, and all families requested anonymity because they said they should not discuss military matters.

The Indian defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the fighting on June 15.

In response to a Reuters inquiry, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry repeated previous statements blaming the Indian side for crossing the de facto border and provoking the Chinese.

“When the Chinese officers and soldiers went to negotiate there, the Indian troops suddenly and violently attacked them,” the spokesman said. “The rights and mistakes of the incident are very clear. The responsibility does not fall entirely on the Chinese. ”

China has provided no evidence of Indian aggression. China’s defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

‘RUPTURED ARTERIES’

Three of the dead men had “broken arteries in the neck” and two head injuries caused by “sharp or pointed objects,” according to death certificates seen by Reuters.

There were visible marks on the neck and forehead, according to the five documents.

“It was a free fight for everyone, they fought with everything they could get their hands on: bars, sticks and even bare-handed,” said a Delhi government official briefed on the confrontation.

The Indian government has said that the People’s Liberation Army (EPL) acted deliberately, but has not provided a full description of the shock that surprised the country and fueled popular anger against China.

China has dismissed an Indian government minister’s claim that China had lost 40 soldiers from the PLA Western Theater Command deployed in Galwan.

His envoy to Delhi suggested in comments to local media and posted on the embassy website that there had been losses on both sides.

“The Indian army suddenly and violently attacked Chinese officers and soldiers who came out to negotiate, causing fierce physical conflict and casualties between the two sides,” said Sun Weidong.

Indian government officials told Reuters the conflict began when the commanding officer of the Bihar regiment led a small group to Patrol Point 14 to verify whether the Chinese had followed through on their promise to withdraw from the disputed site and dismantle the structures. that they had built there.

But instead, they were attacked by Chinese soldiers using iron bars and wooden sticks with nails driven into them on a narrow ledge just four meters wide overlooking the Galwan River.

BODIES FOUND IN THE RIVER

In the past few weeks, the world’s two most populous countries have mobilized more forces along the 3,488 km Current Control Line (LAC), and renewed hostilities have triggered a diplomatic and trade dispute that threatens to escalate, experts say. , including former Indian military officers.

The possibility of unarmed Indian soldiers being overrun by a larger force could further fuel resentment against China and raise questions about why Indian soldiers were sent to a tense power line without being armed.

“How does China dare to kill our unarmed soldiers? Why were our soldiers sent unarmed to martyrdom? Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, wrote in a tweet, demanding that the government provide a full account.

A relative of one of the soldiers who accompanied Colonel Santosh Babu, the commanding officer, to the site of two tents erected by Chinese troops told Reuters that members of the Indian patrol were unarmed.

They confronted a small group of Chinese soldiers and there was an argument over the tents and a small observation tower, the relative said, based on conversations with two other soldiers who were present.

Reuters was unable to establish full details of what happened, but government officials in New Delhi reported the incident and said that at some point Indian troops brought down the observation post and shops because they were on the Indian side of LAC.

Soon after, the Indian side was attacked by a large Chinese force that threw them with stones and attacked them with sharp weapons, according to the families of three dead Indian soldiers, according to conversations they had with the survivors.

Some soldiers retreated to a safe place on the ridge in the dark, but when they couldn’t find the commanding officer, they re-emerged and suffered further attacks, four family members said.

Babu was among those killed in the fighting, the Indian government said. One of the soldiers deployed to the area Reuters spoke to said the Indian patrol was outnumbered by the EPL.

“The Chinese side overwhelmed our people by absolute numbers,” said the soldier, who listened to radio messages seeking reinforcements sent to the regional headquarters in Ladakh.

Three of the Indian families said that soldiers who were asked to return the bodies had told them that some fighters pushed each other in the fast-flowing Galwan River.

The Delhi government official also said that the bodies of some soldiers were removed from the river the following morning. Some had succumbed to hypothermia, the official added.