20 Indian soldiers including a colonel was killed in the India China scuffle

Indian forces and Chinese troops confront each other

Wednesday, 17th June 2020

A fierce scuffle broke out between the troops of India and China in Eastern Ladhak’s Galwan Valley region on this Monday night. It has been considered as one of the worst military scuffles in more than 5 decades. As per a report obtained on Tuesday afternoon 3 personnel of the Indian Army among which a Colonel was there, were killed in this scuffle. Another report that came later declared that 17 more Indian Army soldiers lost their lives due to the injuries they had received and due to the exposure to freezing temperatures that worsened things.

The report also informed that casualties have taken place for the Chinese opponents too. In the context of this warfare United States told that it is paying special attention to the movement of the Indian as well as Chinese troops along the LAC (Line of Actual Control). The Colonel who lost his life in this warfare was known by the name of Santosh Babu. He had been 16 Bihar regiment’s Commanding Officer and had been from Telangana; his native state.

The exact number pertaining to the Chinese casualties has not been clearly reported. Both Chinese military wing as well as the media preferred to maintain silence regarding the actual number of Chinese casualties. The actual nature of the scuffle wasn’t clearly described but it was reported through a statement from the Indian Military sources that the clash did not involve the use of firearms and consisted of just stone-pelting and fighting with rods.

While Chinese military said that they were forced to launch a fight under the provocative attacks from India, a statement from the External Affairs Ministry of the Indian government said that India was forced to retaliate in order to answer China’s attempt to unilaterally alter the region’s status quo. In this context Anurag Srivastava, the MEA Spokesperson said: "Given its responsible approach to border management, India is very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control. We expect the same of the Chinese side."

Source: India Today