HONG KONG: Chinese troops yesterday [Sept 16] returned the bodies of 14 Indian soldiers killed in the dash on Sept 11 on the Sino-Sikkim border, Radio Peking reported today. They also handed back arms and ammunition, including tommy-guns and rifles, at Nathu La Pass, scene of the clash. The radio added that the Indians had attacked on Sept 11 and had resorted to lies to cover up their aggression. The return of the bodies showed that the “Indian reactionaries” had deceived others.

The handover procedure was conducted on the Chinese side of the Nathu La Pass on the Sino-Sikkim border. At 14:10 hours (Peking time) Maj K.V. Chankrag, representative of the Indian side, led 13 Indian personnel to the place designated by the Chinese side. They flew a Red Cross flag as required. The representative of the Chinese border guards handed over 14 bodies, 24 rifles and sub-machineguns and ammunition to the Indian side.

On receiving the bodies, rifles and ammunition, K.V. Chankrag signed the list which bore the words in both Chinese and Hindi: “Bodies and military material left on Chinese territory by Indian troops when intruding into Chinese territory for military provocation on Sept 11, 1967.” At 15:10 the Indian personnel left the Chinese territory carrying with them the bodies, rifles and ammunition.

Indian troops found one of the “bodies” still alive, an Indian Defence Ministry spokesman said in New Delhi today. The spokesman said the Indian soldier was wounded on Monday and lay exposed for five days to the bitter cold in the 15,000-foot pass in the line of firing from artillery, mortar and small arms from both sides. He was found yesterday when the Chinese and Indians began removing their dead and revived immediately on being given a little rum and a slap on the back by a comrade, the spokesman said.

There are still no official figures for the Indian causalities in the fighting, but unofficial estimates put the total of Indian casualties at about 120 of whom about 40 were killed and 80 wounded.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2017