The 17-year-old boy who had gone missing near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh has been handed over to the Indian Army, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju confirmed in a tweet today. 

“The Chinese PLA has handed over the young boy from Arunachal Pradesh Shri Miram Taron to Indian Army. Due procedures are being followed including the medical examination,” he wrote.

On January 23, PRO Defence, Tezpur Lt Col Harshvardhan Pandey, had told ANI that the boy, identified as Miram Tarom, had been found by the Chinese Army and the due procedure was being followed to repatriate him to the Indian side. 

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“The Chinese Army has communicated to us that they have found a missing boy from Arunachal Pradesh and the due procedure is being followed,” PRO Defence, Tezpur Lt Col Harshvardhan Pandey, was quoted as saying by the news agency.

The Indian Army had sought assistance from China’s People Liberation Army (PLA) when the boy had gone missing on January 18. Tarom, said to be part of a local hunting group frequenting remote areas along the LAC, was reportedly captured by the Chinese army near the Tsangpo River’s entry into India; the Tsangpo becomes the Siang when it enters Arunachal Pradesh and the Brahmaputra River when it enters Assam.

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“17-year-old youth Miram Tarom of Zido, Arunachal Pradesh was reportedly captured by Chinese PLA across the Line of Actual Control. Indian Army immediately contacted PLA through a hotline, assistance from PLA has been sought to locate and return him as per protocol,” PRO had tweeted last week.

The area from where the boy went missing is the same in which the Chinese and Indian armies, as well as construction workers from China and local villagers, faced off in 2018 over the construction of a road.

Also read: Watch | Indian Army destroys tanks along Arunachal border as part of drill

In 2020, the PLA kidnapped as many as five boys from the Upper Subansiri district. They were released a week later, but not before the Indian Army reached out to defuse the situation.