Ten Indian soldiers, including four officers, had been detained by the Chinese Army after the violent clashes of June 15 in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in action. They are all back with the Indian side now. The release of the men, including two Majors, came about after three days of negotiations in the Galwan Valley headed by a Major General of the Army.
NDTV had held back the story while the soldiers were being detained by the Chinese to ensure no risk to negotiations.
The Army, while not commenting on the details of the release, has said that all soldiers involved in the clash with the Chinese have now been accounted for.
"It is clarified that there are no Indian troops missing in action," the Army said in a brief statement on Thursday.
Here are the updates on India-China face-off In Ladakh:
No one entered Indian territory, nor were Indian posts taken over, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted in an all-party meeting this evening to discuss the Ladakh clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said India is one when it comes to national security and the all-party meeting has unequivocally conveyed this message, reported PTI.
He also said the meeting was a manifestation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to take all political stakeholders along, when it comes to key matters involving India's strategic interests.
"Attended the all party meet chaired by PM @narendramodi. Meeting had an unequivocal message - India is one when it comes to national security," he said in a tweet.
The home minister said all parties are proud of the country's armed forces, their valour and have full faith in them to defend India's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The country should send a message to the security forces guarding the borders that it stood with them, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said on Friday as he announced compensation for the families of 20 soldiers killed in the Indo-China faceoff in Ladakh.
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Friday said her party stands firmly behind the Union government in this hour of crisis after 20 army personnel were killed in action with Chinese troops along the LAC, and urged the Centre not to allow Chinese investments in strategically important infrastructure sectors, sources said. Read more
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray are some of the leaders attending the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the India-China clash at Ladakh on Monday in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed. Read more
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi today said that the country "would like an assurance that status quo would be restored and China will revert back to the original position on Line of Actual Control" as she made her opening remarks at the all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening. "Even at this late stage, we are still in the dark about many crucial aspects of the crisis," the 73-year-old Congress leader said in a statement as she raised several questions for the government. Read more
Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria visited Ladakh for two days - on Wednesday and Thursday - to review the preparations of the IAF, after the face-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Galwan valley in which 20 Indian troops were killed on Monday night. Read more
While Congress leader Rahul Gandhi kept up his attack on the government for its handling of Chinese aggression in Ladakh that resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers this week, party leader and veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha on Friday sounded a different note, endorsing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Read more
US Ambassador to India Ken Juster today expressed his condolences to the families of the soldiers killed in the India-China stand-off in the Galwan Valley area. Read more
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday paid floral tributes to three Indian army personnel, who died fighting the Chinese in Galwan Valley. Read more
#WATCH Bihar: Huge crowds gather to pay last tributes to Sepoy Jai Kishor Singh at his native village in Vaishali. He lost his life in action in #GalwanValley on June 15-16. pic.twitter.com/Zf4ZvhF43D
- ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2020
Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee are among the leaders expected to participate in an all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening to discuss the India-China clash at Ladakh. But two prominent exclusions are the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Lalu Yadav's RJD."
Ten Indian soldiers, including at least four officers, had been detained by the Chinese Army after the violent clashes of June 15 in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in action. They are all back with the Indian side now."
The U.S. Mission in India sends our heartfelt condolences to the families of the soldiers who were lost at Galwan. Their bravery and courage will not be forgotten. #USIndia https://t.co/gtGR4gSxoG
- Ken Juster (@USAmbIndia) June 19, 2020
It's now crystal clear that:
- Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 19, 2020
1. The Chinese attack in Galwan was pre-planned.
2. GOI was fast asleep and denied the problem.
3. The price was paid by our martyred Jawans.https://t.co/ZZdk19DHcG
All Indian soldiers involved in the deadly clashes with the Chinese army at the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night have been accounted for, the Indian Army said on Thursday evening."
We extend our deepest condolences to the people of India for the lives lost as a result of the recent confrontation with China. We will remember the soldiers' families, loved ones, and communities as they grieve.
- Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) June 19, 2020
Thousands attended the funeral today in Telangana of Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu, who died for his country in the deadly clash with China at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh on Monday and chanted "Bharat Mata Ki Jai".
Eighteen soldiers were at the Indian Army's hospital in Leh as of Thursday afternoon and they will soon be out on duty in about 15 days, sources in the Indian Army said, reported ANI. All are said to be stable, they added.
"No one critical as of now, all are stable. 18 soldiers are at our hospital in Leh, they will be out on duty in about 15 days. 58 soldiers are at other hospitals they should be back on duty within a week," Indian Army sources said on Thursday afternoon.
"58 personnel that are at other hospitals have minor injuries, hence the optimistic timeframe of one week for their recovery," the sources said.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Governor Draupadi Murmu on Thursday paid tributes to Sepoy Ganesh Hansda who lost his life in the Galwan Valley face-off with China, reported ANI. "I salute all the bravehearts who demonstrated their strength and made the supreme sacrifice while protecting the border. We are proud but sad today. We are standing with their families," Mr Soren said.
The chief minister also announced that the state government will give a plot of land to the bereaved families for free in addition to monetary compensation. "In addition to compensation, we will give a plot of land anywhere in the state free of cost to the bereaved families and request the centre to allot petrol pumps to them," Mr Soren said.
"18 soldiers in Leh hospital, 58 in other hospitals, none critical, all stable": Army officials on Ladakh clash" itemprop="description
#NDTVExclusive | "There was confrontation every day, there was shouting, throwing of stones at each other. That is the time you realise something is going to happen": Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh speaks to NDTV on #IndiaChinaFaceOff pic.twitter.com/MSk8gug1Rq
- NDTV (@ndtv) June 18, 2020
Two Punjab soldiers who died fighting the Chinese in Galwan Valley were cremated Thursday at their home villages, their young children - in one case a 10-year-old - lighting the funeral pyres.
Naib Subedar Mandeep Singh's pyre was lit by Jobanpreet Singh (10) in Patiala's Seel village. In Gurdasdpur's Bhojraj village, it fell on 16-year-old Prabhjot Singh to perform the last rites of his father, Naib Subedar Satnam Singh, reported news agency PTI.
Four of the 20 soldiers who died in the clash in Ladakh's Galwan Valley on Monday were from Punjab. The bodies of sepoys Gurbinder Singh (Sangrur) and Gurtej Singh (Mansa) are expected to reach their villages on Friday, officials said.
National Conference (NC) president and Member of Parliament Farooq Abdullah on Thursday expressed concern over the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and asked India and China to show restraint and engage in military de-escalation through dialogue.
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister's remarks come after 20 Indian Army personnel including a colonel were killed in a fierce clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.
"Sober diplomatic channels should be employed to de-escalate brimming tensions on the LAC. War is no solution. It will only aggravate the predicaments of the people living in South East Asia," Abdullah said in a statement, reported news PTI.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will attend a virtual conference of the Russia-India-China trilateral on June 23 which is being held in the backdrop of a violent border clash between Chinese and Indian troops in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava confirmed Mr Jaishankar's participation in the meeting.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov will be the other two participants at the conference. Uncertainty had loomed over the meeting following the border clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley on Monday evening.
The body of two soldiers from Odisha, who were killed in a violent clash with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley, arrived in Bhubaneswar by a special aircraft on Thursday.
A sombre atmosphere gripped the Biju Patnaik International Airport as the aircraft carrying the bodies of Naib Subedar Nanduram Soren of Rairangpur in Mayurbhanj district and Chandrakanta Pradhan of Biarpanga in Kandhamal landed in the evening.
Governor Ganeshi Lal and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik were among a galaxy of dignitaries present at the airport to pay their last tributes to the jawans, who laid down their lives for the country''s sovereignty and integrity.
Mr Lal and Mr Patnaik paid floral tributes and placed wreaths on the tricolour-wrapped caskets containing the mortal remains of Pradhan (28) and Soren (43) as officials and personnel of the three services -- Army, Air Force and Navy -- were present at the airport.
Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Dilbag Singh today warned that Pakistan will try to infiltrate more terrorists and also give impetus to violence in the Kashmir Valley and elsewhere in view of the standoff between the armies of India and China in Ladakh, reported news agency PTI.
The Director General of Police, Jammu and Kashmir, chaired a high-level meeting of officers to review the security scenario of the union territory particularly on the borders.
Cross border infiltration attempts are being made continuously from Pakistan even during the pandemic and we have to be extra alert to thwart such attempts, he said.
In the backdrop of India and China's most bloody face-off in five decades and Beijing's recent claims of sovereignty over parts of east Ladakh, including the geo-politically strategic Galwan Valley area, NDTV spoke with the Leh resident whose family has been here for generations." itemprop="description
The time has come to send a strong message to China and India should take back the Aksai Chin region occupied by Chinese forces since the 1962 war, BJP leader Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, the parliamentarian from Ladakh told NDTV on Thursday." itemprop="description
The economic backlash against China following Monday's violence in Ladakh -- in which 20 Indian soldiers died -- continued today with a Chinese firm given a railways contract being show the door. The public utility DFCCIL (Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India) said it was ending the Rs 471-crore contract "in view of poor progress"." itemprop="description
Rahul Gandhi's comment that Indian soldiers were sent "unarmed to martyrdom" in the brutal clash with China at Galwan valley in Ladakh provoked a sharp rebuttal from Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, who said: "Let's get the facts straight"." itemprop="description
High resolution satellite images procured by NDTV indicate Chinese efforts to block or disturb the flow of the Galwan river in Northeast Ladakh, less than a kilometer from the site of the deadly clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers on June 15 in which 20 Indian officers and men were killed." itemprop="description
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Thursday condemned the killing of soldiers who lost their lives in a violent clash with the Chinese army in Ladakh's Galwan Valley and urged the Central government to provide all the help to their families within three months.
She also demanded the Centre to provide government jobs to one member in the families of the slain soldiers.
"The Prime Minister's statement that our soldiers sacrificed their lives while killing the enemy was a heartfelt tribute to them on the country's behalf. Now, it is the special responsibility of the Central and the state governments to provide all the possible help to their families and a government job to a family member within three months," the former UP Chief Minister's roughly translated tweet said.
All Indian soldiers involved in the deadly clash with China at Galwan Valley in Ladakh on Monday are accounted for, army sources said today." itemprop="description
"Troops were carrying arms...it's a long-standing practice not to use firearms during faceoffs": Foreign Minister S Jaishankar hits back at Congress' Rahul Gandhi
"This is the India of 2020, not 1962...It's time to take Aksai Chin back," says Ladakh MP Jamyang Namgyal to NDTV#IndiaChinaClash
- NDTV (@ndtv) June 18, 2020
Thousands attended the funeral today in Telangana of Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu, who died for his country in the deadly clash with China at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh on Monday and chanted "Bharat Mata Ki Jai"." itemprop="description
A call to boycott Chinese goods has started after the clash at Ladakh's Galwan Valley between Indian and Chinese troops, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed on Monday evening. The all-India traders' body -- the Confederation of All India Traders or CAIT -- has called for a boycott and appealed to celebrities to stop endorsing Chinese products." itemprop="description
A Union Minister has asked people to stop eating Chinese food as anger rises against the neighbouring country after a violent face-off in Ladakh led to casualties. Junior Minister for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale said one of the actions that citizens can take to hurt China, apart from boycotting Made-in-China products, is to stop eating their food." itemprop="description
A day after inconclusive talks over the face-off in eastern Ladakh, a Major General of the Indian Army is holding talks with Chinese military officers at Galwan valley. The talks being held are in the area where violent clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers took place on Monday night. 20 soldiers including a Colonel gave their lives for India, while Army sources have said they believe some 45 Chinese soldiers were killed or injured."
India has conveyed to China the fact that the deadly clash in eastern Ladakh on Monday night will have "a serious impact" on relations between the two countries. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar shared this with his counterpart in Beijing in a phone conversation today. Both sides agreed not to take "any action to escalate matters", a statement from the Foreign Ministry said."
The supreme sacrifice of our brave soldiers while guarding our motherland in Galwan valley will always be remembered. The nation is indebted to them. I pay homage to the martyrs.
- Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) June 18, 2020
BJP has decided to postpone all its political programmes including virtual rallies for next 2 days.
When Naik Deepak Kumar Singh told his grandmother on the phone a few days ago from his Ladakh post that he will come home after the coronavirus-induced lockdown ends, he did not know it would be his last conversation with his family."
The development comes amid a huge escalation in ties with China following a violent face-off at Ladakh, where 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese troops on Monday evening. This was the first time in nearly five decades that fatalities were reported at the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border with China. (Read full story here)
A colonel was among the 20 soldiers killed in the line of duty on Monday. Their sacrifice will not be in vain, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his first comments on the Ladakh clash, warning that India "is capable of giving a fitting reply if provoked".
About 45 Chinese soldiers were also killed or injured, said army sources.