Arunachal MP Kiren Rijiju assures 'Indian Army contacted PLA' on 'abduction' of 5 teens

Amid heightened concerns over five Arunachal Pradesh residents allegedly abducted by China's People Liberation Army, the north-eastern state's Lok Sabha MP and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the Indian Army had sent a hotline message to its PLA counterpart on Sunday. Rijiju said that response from China's border force was awaited. The issue caught the spotlight when Congress MLA Ninong Ering raised the issue on Twitter.

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Rijiju: 'Hotline message sent to PLA'

Probe on after families allege 5 men kidnapped by China's PLA from Arunachal

Five teens kidnapped by PLA from Arunachal

Arunachal Pradesh police launched a probe following reports that five people, who had gone hunting in a forest in Upper Subansiri district on the Sino-India border, were allegedly kidnapped by the Chinese military, a senior official said on Saturday. The alleged incident occurred on Friday in the Nacho area of the district, their families said. Two others, who were in the group, managed to escape and informed the police.

Those allegedly kidnapped have been identified as Toch Singkam, Prasat Ringling, Dongtu Ebiya, Tanu Baker and Ngaru Diri - belonging to the Tagin community. Their family members living at district headquarters Daporijo said some of their relatives had left for Nacho Saturday morning to discuss the matter with the Indian Army. The families urged the authorities to take steps to bring them back. Pasighat West MLA Ninong Ering said that a befitting reply must be given to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) for the incident.

In March, a 21-year-old man was abducted by the PLA from Asapila sector near the McMahon line. While his two friends managed to escape, Togley Sinkam was taken away at gunpoint, his family had said. After 19 days in captivity, the youth was released by the Chinese Army.

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Indo-China LAC faceoff

This development comes amid the ongoing Indo-China faceoff since April at Ladakh's LAC. Over several rounds of Indo-China talks, the Chinese People's Liberation Army has retreated from the Finger 4 area and Patrol point 14 along the LAC, while India pre-empted PLA activity on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake capturing positions of 'strategic importance' in the Fingers area. While China has retreated from Galwan Valley, they are currently around Finger 5 area near the Pangong Tso Lake, with large troops and equipment in the 5-km stretch from Finger 5 to 8. India has recently rejected China's suggestion of "equidistant disengagement" from the Finger area in Ladakh, insisting on complete 'disengagement and de-escalation' of troops. 20 jawans were martyred on June 5-6 amid a violent face-off between Indo-China troops at LAC's Galwan Valley.

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