Five youths from Arunachal Pradesh, who had crossed over to the Chinese side, were handed over to India by China's People Liberation Army (PLA) on Saturday, 12 September, reported ANI.
The individuals will now be quarantined for 14 days as per COVID-19 protocol and will then be handed over to their family members.
The handover comes after Union Minister Kiren Rijiju had said in a tweet on Friday that "The Chinese PLA has confirmed to Indian Army to hand over the youths from Arunachal Pradesh to our side. The handing over is likely to take place anytime tomorrow, ie, 12 September 2020, at a designated location."
Hotline Message Sent by Indian Army to PLA Earlier
The Indian Army had sent a hotline message to the PLA establishment at the border point in Arunachal Pradesh after the youths went missing. According to reports, they had accidentally crossed over to the Chinese side while hunting.
Rijiju had tweeted on 8 September saying the PLA responded to the hotline message. "They have confirmed that missing youths from Arunachal Pradesh have been found by their side. Further modalities to handover the persons to our authority is being worked out," he said.
On 7 September, however, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian had said that he had “no details on Indian Army sending a message to PLA about five missing Indians in the region” and had referred to Arunachal Pradesh as China’s south Tibet region.
According to reports, the abducted persons, Toch Singkam, Prasat Ringling, Dongtu Ebiya, Tanu Baker and Ngaru Diri, all of whom belong to the Tagin community, had gone to the forest for hunting. However, their families had reportedly claimed they were porters.
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