China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has admitted that the five people missing from Arunachal Pradesh are on their side of the border and that modalities were being worked out for their release, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said. This comes a day after Beijing said that it never considered Arunachal Pradesh as a part of India and that it could not abduct its own citizens.

“China’s PLA has responded to a hotline message by Indian Army. They confirmed that missing youths from Arunachal Pradesh have been found by their side. Further modalities to hand over them to our authority being worked out,” the Sports Minister and an MP from Arunachal Pradesh told news agency ANI.

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The five were allegedly kidnapped by the Chinese military on Friday. The incident took place in the Nacho area in a forest in Upper Subansiri district along the border of India-China where they had gone for hunting, said their families. Two others, who were in the group, managed to escape and informed the police.

On Monday, China denied any knowledge of the incident. “China’s position on the eastern section of the China and India boundary and China’s southern Tibet is consistent and clear. We have no details to release yet about questions on Indian Army sending a message to PLA about the five missing Indians in the region,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a press briefing in response to a question about the missing Indians, Global Times reported.

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“We have never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established on the Chinese territory,” Zhao said, adding that he is unaware of the alleged kidnapping.