M A I N   N E W S

6 Chinese soldiers cross LAC in Leh, let off
Arteev Sharma/TNS

Jammu, October 4
In what can be seen as a step-up in incursions by China in Jammu and Kashmir, at least six soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army were reportedly detained and let off by an Indian patrolling party in the Chumar area of Leh last month.

Highly placed sources said the Chinese troopers riding on horses entered into Indian territory to “understand the region geographically and strategically” and “demarcate the borderline”.

“The Chinese have constructed high ‘observation points’ at several places across the Line of Actual Control, particularly in Demchok area, to keep a close watch on the movement of our troops,” sources said. The Chinese soldiers, of late, have stepped up incursions due to the absence of a “demarcated borderline,” they said.

“We learnt about the detention of some persons by a patrolling party in Chumar but no report was received in writing. It is still not clear whether they were Chinese troops or Tibetans,” Leh Deputy Commissioner T Angchok told The Tribune.

On being asked whether the district administration had written to the state and the Central governments, the DC said, “We received nothing in writing (from security forces) controlling the Line of Actual Control so the administration couldn’t take up the matter with the government.”

The Army, however, has denied that any such incident. “No such incident has happened and no Chinese soldier was detained,” said a top official in the Northern Command.

The reports about Chinese intrusions generally are received from the locals, who take their livestock to high altitudes for grazing.

Defence Minister AK Antony had recently said there was no report of any Chinese incursion in Jammu and Kashmir. He, however, said the areas along the LAC were “under constant army surveillance”.

On August 25 last year, two choppers with seven to eight Chinese soldiers had landed around 300 feet inside the LAC in Chumar and damaged the “unused Indian bunkers”. The ITBP personnel posted there had reportedly watched the incident with the help of binoculars.

Chinese troops had forced the J-K Government to suspend development work on the border in Demchok in Leh last year.

how it happened

• Chinese troopers on horseback were reportedly detained and let off by an Indian patrol in the Chumar area of Leh in August
• The Army denied the incident
• Ladakh shares a 646-km-long LAC with China, which is not demarcated at several places