GUWAHATI:
Chief of Army’s Eastern Command, Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita, on May 16, said that there has not been any incursion by China into Arunachal Pradesh since 1959.
“There are reports that China has constructed new villages in Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh. Those areas were occupied by China before 1959. There has been no incursion in the Arunachal Pradesh sector since then,” said the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Command, addressing the press in Guwahati, on Monday.
He also refuted reports of any alleged abductions of villagers by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) after they inadvertently walked into the Chinese side.
“The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is not clearly delineated. People living close to the LAC depend on hunting and collection of herbs for livelihood and some of them walk onto the other side. In the last three-four years, there have been some such incidents, but they have been successfully brought back as per the protocols and the mechanism we have developed with the Chinese counterparts,” Kalita said.
“But there have been no reports about Tapor Pullom, who was allegedly abducted by the PLA on September 11, 2015,” he informed.
Notably, Pullom was allegedly abducted from Taji Bogo Pass under Manigong Circle in Shi-Yomi district (earlier West Siang District) near the Indo-China border in 2015. The whereabouts and fate of Pullom, who was about 40 years at the time of his alleged abduction by the Chinese PLA, remain unknown to this day.
As regards to the international border, the army commander said monitoring the 1,600-km-long border was a challenge due to thick jungles and the free movement agreement within 16km radius of the borders.
“As people living close to the border can move freely without any documents, it is difficult to identify who is a militant, a cross-border smuggler or an innocent trader or local resident,” he added.
At the same press conference, Kalita also revealed that the probe by the Army Court of Inquiry (CoI) into the massacre where 14 civilians were gunned down by the Army in Nagaland’s Oting village is complete and now under examination.
“The Army Court of Inquiry (CoI) into the firing in Nagaland’s Oting village has been completed and it is under examination. We have also received the report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Nagaland government. The CoI is being examined and is being analysed along with the SIT report,” Kalita said.
“It was a case of mistaken identity and error of judgement. If there is any lapse or fault on the part of anyone, action will be taken irrespective of his rank,” he added.
Fourteen civilians were killed in a botched-up operation of the Indian security forces at Oting village in the Mon district on December 4, 2021. While 13 of the civilians were gunned down by the Indian Army, another person was killed in Assam Rifles firing in subsequent violence in Mon town on December 5, 2021.
Following the incident, a probe was ordered and various organisations of Nagaland had demanded that the Indian security force personnel involved in the killings be booked under relevant law.