Indian Army seeks assistance from PLA to locate and return missing youth Miram Taron

New Delhi, Jan 20: The Indian Army has sought assistance from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) to locate missing boy Miram Taron on their side and return him as per established protocol, sources in defence establishment said on Thursday.

Arunachal Pradesh's MP Tapir Gao said on Wednesday that PLA on Tuesday abducted a 17-year-old boy from inside the Indian territory in state's Upper Siang district.

Sources in the defence establishment said on Thursday that when the Indian Army received the information about Taron, it immediately contacted the PLA through an established mechanism of hotline informing that an individual, who was collecting herbs and hunting, had lost his way and cannot be found.

Assistance from the PLA has been sought to locate the individual on their side and return him as per established protocol, sources noted.

Gao said on Wednesday that the incident took place near the place where Tsangpo river enters India in Arunachal Pradesh. Tsangpo is called Siang in Arunachal Pradesh and Brahmaputra in Assam.

The MP also said that he has informed Union Minister of State for Home Nisith Pramanik about the incident and requested him to take necessary action in this regard. In September 2020, the PLA had abducted five youths from Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Subansiri district and released them after about a week.

The latest incident came at a time when the Indian Army continues to be engaged in a stand-off with the PLA in eastern Ladakh since April 2020. There have been 14 rounds of military-level talks between India and China to resolve the standoff. However, the disengagement process is yet to be done in areas of Hot Springs, Depsang bulge and Demchok in eastern Ladakh.

Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. India shares a 3,400 km-long LAC with China from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.