New Delhi: Indian and Chinese troops engaged in fierce face-offs in Ladakh and Naku La pass in Sikkim along the contentious border on Sunday.
Indian and Chinese army men engaged in clashes near Pangong lake in Lakdah in late evening and the scuffle lasted till morning. More than 200 personnel were engaged in the physical assault. It ended only after a dialogue between the two sides.
In Naku La Pass area of Sikkim, another group of about 150 Indian and Chinese military personnel exchanged punches and physical blows. It left over 10 personnel injured.
Indian Lt punches Chinese major, draws huge attention
The Sikkim clash may have gone under reported but this specific incident has certainly become talk of the town. During the physical exchanges, a young Indian Army Lieutenant punched a Chinese major on his nose, triggering panic on both sides.
The Chinese major suffered a bleeding nose and collapsed with a thud, reported The Quint, a leading news portal. This might have triggered an escalation on the border as a ‘junior officer punching the senior Chinese major’ was enough to offend China. The physical altercation drew attention, however, it didn’t go out of hand.
What led to Indian Lt hitting Chinese major
While patrolling at Muguthang in Sikkim, Army Lieutenant’s infantry unit and a Chinese team came face to face where the latter was shouting, “Sikkim is not your land, this is not your territory…. So just go back.”
The brave Indian soldier couldn’t stomach such objectionable rant from the Chinese and when the exchanged got heated up, he hit the Chinese major in the face.
“What Sikkim not our territory? What the hell!” he shouted back. Then, as one PLA major moved menacingly towards his senior officer, a captain, the lieutenant flew into him and punched him in the face, reported the leading portal.
As the act could have triggered major conflict on Indo-Chinese border, the Army officer got a slight rebuke from his senior officers and has also been removed from the front positions.
However, many of his fellow officers and colleagues are full of admiration for him, for ‘teaching Chinese the right lesson’. The brave officer belongs to a family, with three generations in the Army.
