Kiren Rijiju lauds Indian army for ensuring safe return of missing Arunachalee youths

Guwahati: Union Sports Minister and Arunachal West MP Kiren Rijiju today thanked the Indian army for the "smooth return" of the 5 Arunchalee citizens who had inadvertently strayed onto Chinese soil.

"China's PLA has handed over our 5 boys to our side here at Kibitu area. I appreciate Indian Army for the smooth return of our citizens," Rijiju wrote in a tweet, hailing the efforts of the Indian armed forces for the return of the Tagin tribe youths.

The leader also thanked the Indian Army Chief, his office,and the local Commanders for "constantly following up the matter and regularly updating me on the matter."

In a subsequent tweet, Rijiju expressed his gratitude to India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh for ensuring the return of the youths from the Chinese side of the border. "All the 5 Indian youths from Arunachal Pradesh who were received at Kibithu by our Army from PLA are fit and fine. However, they will be quarantined for a specified period. I also thank Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh ji for the concern he had shown," the Union Minister wrote in a subsequent tweet.

Earlier today, the 5 individuals from Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Subansiri District who had inadvertently strayed across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) were returned to India, the Indian Army confirmed via a statement.

The Indian Army took over all five individuals at Kibitu on September 12 after completing all the formalities.

The five individuals will now be quarantined for 14 days as per COVID-19 protocol and will thereafter be handed over to their family members, the army said in a statement.

The Indian Army had earlier approached the PLA on hotline to trace and return the 5 missing youths. On September 8, a response on the hotline confirmed that the missing individuals had been traced.

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