Reports of Chinese incursions into Sikkim false: Army and ITBP

VISHNU NEOPANEY
GANGTOK, 05 June: Sources in the Indo-Tibetan Border Force (ITBP) and 17th Mountain Division here in Gangtok have denied media-reports of Chinese incursions along the border in North Sikkim terming the reports as “incorrect”.
Sources in the 17th Mountain Division said that national media reports about encroachment by China of Indian territory in North Sikkim were false, and stressed that national electronic media should confirm such reports with local authorities and army before airing them.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of ITBP Gangtok Sector, Amit Prasad, also rubbished reports of incursion along the Indo-China border. He said that no such incident has transpired and pointed out that should incursions have taken place, “I would be in North Sikkim instead of here in Gangtok”.
Sikkim’s borders with Tibet Autonomous Region are “settled borders” and reports in the national media are totally false, the DIG stressed, adding that the Army and ITBP personnel posted in the border areas have not reported any such activities.
“The rumors and false reports in national media created havoc and unnecessary tension with the army border personnel and people of the border area in general. They should properly verify the reports before broadcasting such reports,” the ITBP DIG said.
Sources in the army echoed these sentiments, pointing out, “The Sikkim-Tibet border is the only sector Beijing does not dispute. Chinese incursions are however occurring in the Uttarakhand territory -- the middle sector – where the line of control was clarified in 2001 through an India-China exchange of maps.”
The state administration in Gangtok also denied news reports of Chinese incursions in North Sikkim. “If such things happen, local administration will certainly be alerted by the army or border forces,” said a senior officer here in Gangtok.