One can feel the desperation in the family of 54- year-old Tapor Pullom who was allegedly abducted by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in 2015 from somewhere near the McMahon Line in Shi Yomi district. Pullom was abducted near Taji Boge area of Monigong village in Shi-Yomi District, while his friend managed to escape.
The McMahon Line is not clearly demarcated and for the residents of Arunachal’s long border with China, this has often resulted in unintentional crossovers and landing in enemy territory. Hunting and foraging for herbs and food is a day to day practice for residents of border villages and in doing so they often venture out deep into the forest and inevitably trespass on the other side of the international boundary.  
One can empathize with the Pullom family for whom the last six years has been a daily ordeal. This incident also belies the fact that something has gone terribly wrong in the Army’s established protocol and at the diplomatic level to secure the safe return of an innocent Indian citizen. According to the family, they had reached out to the then Minister for State for Home Affairs and now Union Minister of Law & Justice, Kiren Rijiju but all in vain. The reason for an Arunachal citizen languishing in a Chinese jail despite being innocent must be answered by those in power.
In September 2020, five youths who were abducted by the People’s Liberation Army near the McMahon Line in Upper Subansiri were released after about a week. 17-year-old Miram Taron, who was recently abducted from the Lungta Jor area of Upper Siang district on 18th January this year, was also released in a little more than a week’s time on January 27, so the case of Tapor Pullom is perplexing.
Arunachal’s members of parliament must raise the issue in parliament so that a family is reunited. Lok Sabha MP, Tapir Gao has been flagging matters of transgression by the Chinese on Arunachal territory at times to the discomfiture of the central BJP government. Even in the Miram Taron case, Gao was the first to inform of the incident. With such vocal voices, and with an Arunachalee holding the influential portfolio of Union Law & Justice Minister, there is hope that an innocent man is not incarcerated because of a lack of effort and compassion.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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