GUWAHATI: A youth from Arunachal Pradesh, who had inadvertently crossed over to China’s Tibetan Autonomous Region in search of herbs, safely returned to India, all thanks to the Indian Army.
On March 19, Togley Singkam and two of his friends, Gamshi Chadar and Ronya Nade, had gone out to collect a few herbs in the state’s Upper Subansiri district. According to locals, it was then that they were nabbed by the Chinese soldiers.
The matter came to light after Gamshi and Ronya managed to escape and reported the incident to villagers. Later, on learning about the incident, the army swung into action.
Defence sources said it was reported that Singkam was picked up by Chinese security personnel while his friends managed to escape.
'The Indian Army immediately swung into action and approached the Chinese side utilizing the established border management mechanism. Owing to peace and tranquillity that exists in the region and the bonhomie that has developed between both the border-guarding forces, Singkam was handed over to the Indian Army on April 7,' defence spokesman Lt Col P Khongsai said.
Khongsai said the youth was being quarantined by Indian Army in view of COVID-19 pandemic and would be handed over to his family after 14 days.