Chinese soldier Wang Qi, who had strayed into Indian territory in 1963, left for China with his family on Friday, ANI reported. Wang is accompanied by his Indian wife Sushila, son Vishnu and two others, officials told PTI. The Chinese and Indian governments had confirmed reports that they were collaborating on ensuring his return to China, five decades after he crossed the border.
The 77-year-old was detained when he crossed over in January 1963. He said he was “tasked with building roads for the Chinese army” and was captured by the Indian Army when he “strayed erroneously” into the Indian side. He was released in 1969, and he had been living since then in Tirodi, a village in Madhya Pradesh. He has three children with his wife Sushila, and is called Raj Bahadur in the village. He had approached Indian and Chinese authorities in the past seeking permission to travel to China to meet his family.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup had said the government was looking into the details of the case. Beijing, too, had confirmed that the two governments were working together to find a solution. “We sympathise with what happened to him and will provide assistance to him. We believe under joint efforts and by respecting his [Wang Qi] will, the case will be solved properly,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang.
The case drew attention from the Chinese media after a recent BBC report on him. The state-run Global Times took note of the soldier’s case and wrote about him. “Although it’s unclear whether Wang is a prisoner of war, it is inhumane to have isolated the elderly man from his family for such a long time,” said the report.
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