China's PLA hands over missing Arunachal boy to India

Itanagar: Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has handed over an Arunachal Pradesh teenager, Miram Taron, to the Indian Army, nine days after he went missing.

Due procedures were followed in the process including the 17-year-old's medical examination, he added.

The teen from Arunachal's Zido village in Upper Siang district went missing from Lungta Jor area bordering China on January 18 when he went hunting with a friend.

Taking to twitter, Rijiju, also the MP from Arunachal West, wrote: “The Chinese PLA has handed over the young boy from Arunachal Pradesh, Miram Taron, to the Indian Army.”

The Army is yet to issue an official statement. “There is no official confirmation yet,” Tezpur-based Defence PRO Lt Col Harsh Wardhan Pande told UNI.

On Wednesday, the Minister said the PLA confirmed that the young man will be repatriated to the Indian side.

Earlier, he said the Indian Army discussed the issue over hotline with the PLA.

On January 20, China intimated it had found the teenager and sought further details to establish the identity.

BJP's Arunachal East MP Tapir Gao had on January 19 said Taron was abducted by the PLA from Lungta Jor area in Upper Siang. (UNI)