'Feeding charges' taken by Chinese troops for horses of three detained Indians

Leh/New Delhi: Chinese troops, who detained three Indian nationals and later released them in Chumar sector of South Ladakh, had taken from them Rs 300 as 'feeding charges' for each of the three horses they were on.

The incident occurred in the first week of last month when the three men went near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after 43 horses they were tending had strayed into the Chinese territory. Only five horses had returned on their own.

The three - Tundup Durjay, Paldan Dorjay and Mawang Hamgyal - were apprehended by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) on December four and taken to their camp. They were handed over to the Indian Army after the flag meeting on December 12.

The three, at present in custody of Jammu and Kashmir Police, said they were looking for the 38 horses which had been captured by the PLA.

They told the police that Chinese PLA had charged them Rs 300 per horse as 'feeding charges' for the three horses on which they had gone in the hunt for other animals, official sources said today.

The three were kept in custody as a precautionary measure and would be released after completion of legal formalities and complete debriefing.