Rejecting reports about the detention of a joint patrol party detained by the Chinese forces in Ladakh, the Indian Army on Sunday said that these were “inaccurate”.

Indian Army  Spokesperson issued a statement saying, ”There has been no detention of Indian soldiers at the borders. We categorically deny this. It only hurts national interests when media outlets publish unsubstantiated news.”

It was claimed that an Indian patrol party comprising Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police  (ITBP) personnel were detained by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) last week after skirmishes in Ladakh near the Line of Actual Control. Reports claimed that the Indian patrol party was briefly detained and their firearms snatched by the Chinese and they were only released after talks between both sides at the local level.

Chinese forces were alleged to have intruded the Indian territory and were also carrying out aggressive patrols with motorboats in the Pangong lake. On this, the Indian Army sources maintained that the reports on detention are inaccurate.

The Indian Army has clarified that they will not allow any kind of Chinese transgression in India territory and would patrol in those areas. The PLA has been clashing with Indian forces on patrol after entering the Indian side.

On Friday, General Manoj Mukund Naravane visited Leh, the headquarters of 14 Corps in Ladakh, and reviewed deployment of forces along the Line of Actual Control with China.

He held a meeting with Northern Command chief Lieutenant General Y K Joshi and 14 Corps Commander Lieutenant General Harinder Singh and other officers to know the ground situation on the forward locations along the Line of Actual Control. Late in the day, he returned to Delhi.