New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday after reports of the Chinese Army aka People's Liberation Army (PLA) kidnapped a 17-year-old boy from Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Siang district.
Targeting Prime Minister over his nonaction over the issue, Gandhi tweeted in Hindi.
"Just a few days before Republic Day a young boy, the future of India, was kidnapped by China. We stand with the family of Miram Taron and will not give up hope and won't accept defeat," Congress leader's Hindi tweet said.
"The Prime Minister's cowardly silence is his statement... he doesn't care," he added.
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The latest incident at the border comes amid India's standoff with China in eastern Ladakh since April 2020.
Meanwhile, Defence Sources told news agency ANI, on receipt of information regarding the incident of a missing youth, the Indian Army immediately contacted PLA.
Assistance from PLA has been seeking to locate the individual on their side and return him as per established protocol, ANI mentioned.
Earlier, Arunachal MP Tapir Gao informed about the abduction of the boy through a tweet on Wednesday. The boy who has identified as Miram Taron is a native of Zido village in the Upper Siang district.
Taron's friend Johny Yaiying, who managed to escape, informed the authorities about the kidnapping by the PLA, Gao told PTI over the phone from Ziro, the district headquarters of Lower Subansiri district.
Both are local hunters and belong to Zido village. The MP said the incident took place near the place where the Tsangpo river enters India in Arunachal Pradesh. Tsangpo is called as Siang in Arunachal Pradesh and Brahmaputra in Assam.
In a tweet, Gao pleaded to the Centre for necessary action.
”All the agencies of Govt of India are requested to step up for his early release," he said in a tweet and posted pictures of the abducted boy.
Gao also said that he has informed the Union minister of state for home Nisith Pramanik about the incident and requested him to take necessary action in this regard. He tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and the Indian Army in his tweets.
In September 2020, the PLA had abducted five youths from Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Subansiri district and released them after about a week, according to the PTI report. India shares a 3,400 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.