Ladakh scuffle inside story: Indian and Chinese troops fought thrice at Galwan
Tension prevails at Ladakh LAC where Indian and Chinese forces are standing eye-to-eye. On June 15, there was a scuffle between Indian and Chinese forces in which 20 Indian soldiers attained martyrdom. 43 Chinese soldiers were eliminated. On June 15, the scuffle between Indian and Chinese forces took place three times. Here is the inside story of Galwan.
Prior to the incident, it was agreed by the Chinese that they will withdraw their forces along with the equipment. However, things changed on June 15.
As company Commander Santosh Babu, along with other Indian soldiers went to Patrolling Point 14 to check the status, he observed that Chinese had not withdrawn their forces but new soldiers had come in. Chinese soldiers who were previously camping at the location were sent back.
Colonel Babu asked the Chinese to vacate the area as per the agreement reached in the Lieutenant General level talks previously. However, the Chinese attacked Indian soldiers. This happened at 7 pm.
Sources say that Colonel Babu tried to cool down the situation but the Chinese were not ready to listen. Colonel Babu sent injured Indian soldiers back. It was agreed that talks will be held at 9 pm
However, the Chinese attacked again. PLA soldiers pelted stones and Colonel Babu was struck in his head. He fell in a river. Another soldier was injured. This scuffle lasted for 45 minutes. Injured Indian soldiers were brought back to camp.
Third scuffle took place at 11 pm. This happened on the Chinese side. This time, Indian Army soldiers were joined by Ghatak Platoon jawans.
Sources say that during this scuffle, 10 Indian soldiers were made prisoner by the Chinese while several of them were made prisoner by Indian forces.
Major General level talks were initiated after these incidents and it was only after three days of discussion, the situation cooled down a bit. However, India has increased deployment of soldiers in the area including at Finger 4 of Pangong Tso. The entire region is being monitored closely.
