New Delhi: A total of 76 Indian Army personnel were brutally attacked by the Chinese army in the recent violent face-off in Glawan Valley in Ladakh on Monday, military sources quoted by PTI news agency said. Of the injured, 18 were seriously wounded while 58 of them sustained minor injuries, and all of them should be able to get back on duty with a week or two, the officials said.
Of the injured soldiers, 18 are at the hospital in Leh, the remaining 56 are spread across other hospitals.
Twenty soldiers had died in the standoff fighting on Monday evening that started after the Indian troops, led by Colonel BK Santosh Babu, tried to remove a tent that belonged to Chinese troops.
The Indian soldiers were attacked with iron rods, nail-studded clubs and rocks wrapped in barbed wire in the fight near Patrol Point 14 – a vantage point in Indian territory that overlooks Chinese positions on their side of the Line of Actual Control, which is the de-facto border between India and China.
The two armies were engaged in a standoff in Galwan and various other areas of eastern Ladakh since May 5 when the two sides fought on the banks of the Pangong Tso.
Talks between the two armies, however, remained unsettled for the second straight day today. A Major General of the Army started the second round of talks today.
India has made it clear that it expects China to reassess its actions and take remedial steps. In a telephonic conversation yesterday, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar also told his China counterpart that the unprecedented development “will have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship”.
This afternoon, thousands attended the funeral of Colonel BK Santosh Babu, which has been carried out with full military honors in Telangana.
Sources said, Ten Indian Army personnel including two Majors have been released by the Chinese military on Thursday evening following three days of negotiations. However, there is no official statement on the matter.
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. “It is clarified that no Indian troops are missing in action,” the Army said in a brief statement without elaborating.
Indian and Chinese militaries held a Major General-level dialogue on Thursday for the third consecutive day on disengagement of troops as well as restoring normalcy in areas around the Galwan Valley.
The clash in Galwan Valley is the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La.
The two armies were engaged in a standoff in Galwan and several other areas of eastern Ladakh since May 5 when the two sides clashed on the banks of the Pangong Tso.
After the standoff began, the Indian military leadership decided that Indian troops will adopt a firm approach in dealing with the aggressive posturing by the Chinese troops in all disputed areas of Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok, and Daulat Beg Oldie.
The Chinese Army has been gradually ramping up its strategic reserves in its rear bases near the LAC by rushing in artillery guns, infantry combat vehicles, and heavy military equipment.
The situation in the area deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on May 5 and 6. The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in North Sikkim on May 9.
Before the clashes, both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas.