Everest conqueror Tapi Mra and his aide Niku Dao, missing from an expedition to Arunachal Pradesh’s highest snow-capped mountain since August, could be in captivity in China, members of their families fear.
The All Tagin Students’ Union (ATSU) has aired a similar apprehension as the 6,900-metre Khyarii Satam — the peak in East Kameng district Mr. Mra attempted to scale for the fourth time — is almost on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and the Tibetan region of China.
The ATSU caters to the aspirations of the Tagins, an ethnic community the mountaineer duo belonged to.
The members of the families of Mr. Mra and Mr. Dao, staging a dharna in State capital Itanagar’s Indira Gandhi Park for the seventh day on Nov. 6, lamented the “indifference” of the Arunachal Pradesh Government to the demands for bringing them back — dead or alive.
They also said the Pema Khandu Government should approach the Centre for initiating communication with Beijing to find out if Mr. Mra and Mr. Dao strayed into China or were captured by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of that country.
“The PLA may have abducted the duo from Khyarii Satam, which is almost on the LAC. We appeal to the government to communicate with the Chinese in case Mra and Dao are being held there,” ATSU president Tadak Pakba said.
Mr. Mra and Mr. Dao had left for Khyarii Satam with seven porters on July 27 from Sario-Saria, a Puroik community village in the Sawa circle of East Kameng district. The porters returned but the two mountaineers went missing on August 17.
A search and rescue operation organised by the district authorities with the help of the armed forces had to be called off because of heavy rain. In October, another team comprising Mr. Mra’s kin and three mountaineers brought back the belongings of Mr. Mra and Mr. Dao from Mt. Khyarii Satam but did not find any trace of the duo.
Villagers close to the LAC say it is not unusual for locals, usually out hunting or collecting medicinal plants, to stray into Chinese territory.
The last persons to go missing from near Arunachal Pradesh’s border with China were Bateilum Tikro and Bayingso Manyu from Anjaw district on August 19. Another youth from the district, Miram Taron was returned by the PLA on January 27, more than a week after straying into China.
