Two Arunachal men missing for 2 years; last sighted along China border

Two men from Arunachal Pradesh, missing for nearly two years after they disappeared from a remote area along the India-China border, are believed to be in the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) custody but the Chinese military has not confirmed their presence.

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Batelum Tikro, 35, and his cousin, Bainsi Manyu, 37, went missing on August 19, 2022, while looking for medicinal herbs in a high-altitude region of the Chaglagam area in the state's Anjaw district. Extensive searches have yielded no information about their whereabouts. Families and local authorities continue to seek answers, raising concerns about the security and safety of individuals in border areas.

"I have come to know that they were detained by the Chinese army," Tikro's brother Dishanso Chikro told PTI over phone. Chikro said he has approached local army authorities several times to seek information about his brothers. "I am told that the issue was raised by the Indian Army with their Chinese counterparts. But no response has come so far," he said.

Anjaw MLA and State's Women and Child Development Minister Dasanglu Pul confirmed that the duo went missing along the border with China while looking for medicinal herbs.

"The Chinese side has not yet acknowledged that the youths are in their custody.