Chinese army tortured, gave electric shocks to Indian teen: MP
Miram Taron, the 17-year-old teenager from Arunachal Pradesh who went missing on the India-China border in January, was given electric shocks by the Peoples' Liberation Army (PLA) of China, said Tapir Gao, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from the state. "This is a serious matter. I urge the government to raise the issues with the authorities concerned," he said to ANI.
Why does the story matter?
The incident comes amid tensions between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. Notably, China has been accused of the abduction of Indian citizens from border areas in the past as well. On January 19, Gao was the first to alert about the abduction on Twitter, seeking assistance from Indian agencies in securing the youth's return.
Indian Army intervened after abduction
The Indian Army contacted the PLA on January 20 and a week later, China handed over the "missing boy." Miram's father Opang Taron, however, was anguished with the Chinese soldiers' treatment of his son. "My son was trying to flee from the spot and scratched a few soldiers who were trying to grab him. One of them kicked my son several times," he said.
'He was taken to a PLA camp'
"If that was not all, Chinese soldiers took him to a PLA camp and questioned him in Tibetan, which he failed to understand," Opang said. "Since he failed to understand them, they got upset. Later, they gave him electric shocks," he said. The boy's father also added that the torture stopped once his abduction made headlines.
Taron's friend managed to flee and report the incident
Taron was abducted from the Line of Actual Control in the Lungta Jor area while he was hunting inside the Indian territory. Jonny Yaying, a friend of Taron's who was a part of the hunting party, later said that they were traveling through the forest in the dark when Chinese soldiers emerged and kidnapped Miram. Yaying fled, and reported the incident to Indian authorities.
Previous cases of abductions by PLA
The PLA allegedly kidnapped five youths from the Upper Subansiri district in September 2020. They were released a week later after the Indian Army reached out to Chinese authorities. A 21-year-old from the same region was reportedly abducted by the Chinese army in March 2020. He was set free following the intervention of the Indian Army.
No progress in India-China military standoff
Notably, the two countries have been engaged in a military standoff along the LAC in Ladakh since June 2020, after violent clashes in the Galwan valley resulted in multiple casualties on both sides. Several rounds of talks between the two countries have failed to yield any positive results. In December 2021, China 'renamed' 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh, which was rejected by India.
