This Article is From Feb 02, 2022

"Given Shocks, Thought I'd Be Killed": Arunachal Teen To NDTV On China Custody

Miram was reunited with his family about two weeks after he had gone missing along the Line of Actual Control with China.

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India News Reported by , Edited by
New Delhi:

Miram Taron, the teenage boy from Arunachal Pradesh who spent around 200 hours in the custody of China's People's  Liberation Army, said he feared for his life and had no idea what was happening to him. The teenager was tied up, kicked and given electric shocks while in custody. His hunting partner managed to escape by pointing a gun at the Chinese soldiers, he said. 

In an interview with NDTV, the teenager who was picked by the PLA on January 18 from the Upper Siang area, recounted his ordeal.  

"I knew nothing. I had no idea if they were taking me back to Indian territory or if Indians were doing something similar. I thought they would take me to their city and kill me," he said. 

Miram was reunited with his family in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Siang district around two weeks after the 17-year-old had gone missing. 

"I was terrified but wasn't even able to weep out of fear. I was shivering. They said some things and kicked me, then kicked me again two to three times. They gave me electric shocks twice," he told NDTV. 

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Miram and his hunting expedition partner Johnny Yaying had gone hunting near the Line of Actual Control - the de facto border with China - as part of a customary ritual when they were surrounded by the Chinese PLA. 27-year-old Mr Yaying was carrying a gun and managed to escape but Miram was tied up, blindfolded and taken to a Chinese camp where he was tied to a wooden post. 

"Johnny threatened them with the gun and escaped but I got cornered. They then tied me up, blindfolded me and took me away. They took me to a camp, it took around 15 minutes to reach there. They tied me up to a wooden post," he said. 

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Miram said he was feeling cold and afraid. "They were talking but I couldn't understand their language, so I just sat there...my entire body was shaking," he added. 

The area from where Miram was captured was the same area in Tuting circle where the Chinese Army had entered in 2018 with road construction equipment and were trying to build road 3-4 km inside India when the locals and Indian Army objected and that led to a standoff until the Chinese backed off. 

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Mr Yaying confirmed that the gun had indeed helped him escape. 

"I threatened them with my gun and fled. They had surrounded me as well but I pointed the gun at them and ran away," he told NDTV. 

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Mr Yaying further said that they had gone beyond Bishing village (the last Indian village near LAC), called Siyunla-Lungthazor locally, for a festival. "It got late, around 6 pm. The Chinese PLA had surrounded us. I somehow ran away and informed his father and others in the village," he said. 

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