Miram Taron is still struggling to get over the trauma and the fatigue he had underone during his nine-day-long restrainment by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China since he was caught near the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh and taken to their camp on January 18.
"I have been asked to take rest by army doctors," 19-year-old Miram, son of Opang Taron, a farmer in Jido village in Upper Siang district told DH over the phone on Thursday. "It is like a second life for me. I thought I would be killed. But now that I have come back, my only request to our government is to give me a chance to work with the army to serve the nation," Taron said.
His father, Opang, told DH that Miram faced trauma and fatigue since he was kept blindfolded and handcuffed for 10 days and taken from one place to another. "He was kicked and given electric shocks as he did not understand their language. Miram requested them to speak in Hindi or Adi (mother tongue) but they did not understand him," he said.
Miram and his friend Johny Yaying had gone to the Bishing area near the LAC for hunting, around 6 pm when it was starting to get dark, when Chinese forces surrounded them. Johny managed to flee but PLA personnel caught Miram and took him to their camp. "It took around 15 to 20 minutes to reach their camp. The next day, they took me in a car to another place and asked me a lot of things in their language, which I did not understand," he said.
The place from where Miram was taken into custody was the area where Chinese forces had entered the Indian territory and tried to construct a road. This led to a standoff between PLA and Indian Army personnel till Chinese forces stepped back.
BJP MP from Arunachal Pradesh, Tapir Gao, on January 19 claimed that Miram was abducted by the PLA from within Indian territory.
Miram, who studied till only class 8 is the fourth son of Opang. His three elder brothers have none to little levels of education and are a part of the family agriculture activities. His younger brother is studying in a college.
Miram's father said their only request to the government was to give his son a job, either in the army or with the state police, as per his educational qualification so that he can serve the nation.
Miram was released by the PLA on January 27 and handed over to the Indian Army at the Kibithu border interaction point in Anjaw district of eastern Arunachal Pradesh, which is nearly 1,000 kilometres from where he was taken into custody. He was reunited with his family on January 31, after a quarantine.
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