Five missing Indian youths from Arunachal Pradesh found in China: Rijiju
Modalities to handover them to Indian authority being worked out, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said
NEW DELHI : The Indian Government on Tuesday said China has confirmed that five missing youths from Arunachal Pradesh have been found by their side.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju said China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) today responded to hotline message by Indian Army and confirmed that the missing youths from Arunachal Pradesh have been found by their side.
Further modalities to handover them to our authority being worked out, the Union minister added.
Earlier, the Indian Army had asked its Chinese counterpart if five civilians who went missing from Arunachal Pradesh border days ago were in their custody.
"We spoke with them on the hotline and told them that it's suspected that some people have crossed across to your side and we will be grateful if you could hand them over back, as per what we do normally," news agency Reuters quoted Lieutenant Colonel Harsh Wardhan Pande.
Relations between the two Asian giants have hit a multi-decade low since clashes at their western Himalayan border in June that killed 20 Indian soldiers.
Both sides have since stepped up monitoring of their largely unsettled 3,488 km (2,167 miles) border.
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