Five Arunachal men kidnapped by China's PLA, allege families; probe underway

Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh police has launched a probe following reports that five people, who had gone hunting in a forest in Upper Subansiri district on the Sino-India border, were allegedly kidnapped by the Chinese military, a senior official said on Saturday.The alleged incident occurred on Friday in the Nacho area of the district, their families said. Two others, who were in the group, managed to escape and informed the police."I have sent the officer-in-charge of the Nacho police station to the area to verify the facts and directed him to report immediately. However, the report will be available only by Sunday morning," Superintendent of Police Taru Gussar said.Those allegedly kidnapped have been identified as Toch Singkam, Prasat Ringling, Dongtu Ebiya, Tanu Baker and Ngaru Diri. All of them belong to the Tagin community.Their family members living at district headquarters Daporijo said some of their relatives had left for Nacho Saturday morning to discuss the matter with the Indian Army. Nacho is around 120 kilometers from the district headquarters.The families urged the authorities to take steps to bring them back. The Army could not be reached for comments.Pasighat West MLA Ninong Ering said that a befitting reply must be given to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) for the incident.In March, a 21-year-old man was abducted by the PLA from Asapila sector near the McMahon line.While his two friends managed to escape, Togley Sinkam was taken away at gunpoint, his family had said. After 19 days in captivity, the youth was released by the Chinese Army.