The Indian Army on Monday returned the nabbed People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldier to China.
The Chinese soldier was nabbed by Indian Army on early Friday after he transgressed across the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh.
The soldier was returned to China at the Chushul-Moldo border point in eastern Ladakh at 10.10 am, Indian Army officials said.
“The PLA soldier, who was apprehended on January 8, was handed back to China at Chushul-Moldo at 10.10 am on Monday,” a source said.
Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a tense border standoff in eastern Ladakh for over eight months.
The faceoff began in May last year, following a clash between the two sides in the Pangong lake area.
“The PLA soldier had transgressed across the LAC and was taken into custody by Indian troops deployed in this area.
“Troops from either side are deployed along the LAC since friction erupted last year due to unprecedented mobilization and forward concentration by Chinese troops,” the Army said in a statement on Saturday.
Following the capture of the soldier by the Indian Army, China had sought his immediate return on Saturday.
It was the second such incident of India capturing and subsequently returning a Chinese soldier in the last three months.
Indian troops had captured Corporal Wang Ya Long of the PLA on October 19 last year after he “strayed” across the LAC in Ladakh’s Demchok sector.
The corporal was handed back to China at the Chushul-Moldo border point following the laid-down protocols.