Guwahati: Amid heightened tensions between India and China along the LAC in Ladakh, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has reportedly “apprehended” five men when they went hunting in a forest in Arunachal Pradesh, leading the police to launch a probe.
The army, however, said they have no information about the incident, while the police claimed the families of the missing men have not lodged a complaint yet.
The alleged incident occurred at an area called Sera Seven in Upper Subansiri district. A remote area located in the dense forests, Sera Seven can be reached after a two-day march from the nearest Nacho village, and after an 11-day journey on foot from district headquarters Daporijo. It is yet be ascertained when the incident took place.
The news about the detention of five Arunchali men was first tweeted by local Congress MLA Ninong Ering Saturday morning in which he quoted an Arunachal Times report that read ‘Chinese army abducts five villagers from Nacho’.
SHOCKING NEWS: Five people from Upper Subansiri district of our state Arunachal Pradesh have reportedly been ‘abducted’ by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Few months earlier,a similar incident happened. A befitting reply must be given to #PLA and #CCPChina. @PMOIndia https://t.co/8gRdGsQfId pic.twitter.com/KbDMJ3bUi2
— Ninong Ering (@ninong_erring) September 4, 2020
But speaking to ThePrint, the Pasighat West MLA said the five men were “apprehended” and not “abducted”. He, however, didn’t specify the source of his information.
“It was a group of seven men… five have been apprehended by the PLA, not abducted, while two of them managed to escape. But it is a clear case of incursion by the Chinese. This is our land, our people visit the border area often, they go to the jungle for hunting, fishing and collecting medicinal herbs. Some also work as porters for Indian Army or ITBP,” he told ThePrint over the phone.
Ering said the deputy commissioner of Daporijo has sent a team to Nacho to trace the men.
“We have asked the administration to go and verify the incident. These kinds of notorious activities by China should not happen time and again. At a time when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is meeting defence ministers of Russia and China, these issues of repeated incursion by PLA should be taken up,” Ering added.
BJP MP from Arunachal Tapir Gao told ThePrint: “The local MLA (Ering) has confirmed that the 5 men have been picked up by Chinese army.
“It happened North of Nacho and the family member of one of the missing men who appealed for help is currently in Itanagar. We are unable to reach the area immediately. Such incidents have also happened in the past and is a cause of concern,” he added.
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Army in constant touch with civil administration
Keni Bagra, Superintendent of Police (SP), Upper Subansiri said the officer-in-charge of the Nacho police station has been asked to find out the details of the alleged incident.
“We came to know from social media that five people belonging to the Tagin community were abducted by the PLA from a jungle near Nacho while they were out hunting. The families of the missing men have not lodged any formal complaint,” he added.
Defence spokesperson Lt Col Harshvardhan Pande said teams have been alerted and they are in constant touch with the civil administration.
“We have no report of any such incident, but we have alerted our teams and are in constant touch with the civil administration on the same. The SP of Upper Subansiri said they have not received any missing complaint yet,” he said.
Not the first time
In March this year, another hunter, 21-year-old Togley Sinkam from the Tagin community was caught by the PLA from the same area in Upper Subansiri for “accidentally” crossing the McMohan Line in the Aspila sector. He was, however, released after two weeks following meetings between army officials of the two countries.
The McMahon Line is the demarcation line between the Tibet autonomous region of China and Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as its own. It is not properly demarcated and passes through some rugged mountains devoid of any human habitation. Some areas remain inaccessible when it snows.
China has not formally recognised the McMahon Line, and local villagers in Arunachal are also not aware of the demarcation.
Also read: Chinese PLA patrolling in Arunachal, time for action on the border: BJP MP Tapir Gao