The news about an Arunachal Pradesh teenager being beaten up and given electric shocks while in the custody of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is a serious matter, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tapir Gao said on Wednesday, ANI reported.

Gao, who represents Arunachal East in the Lok Sabha, had first tweeted on January 19 that the Chinese Army had abducted 17-year-old Miram Taron from Indian territory. Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,080-km border with China.

Taron’s friend Jonny Yaying had also alleged that the two were part of a hunting party and were near Lungta Jor, which is close to the Line of Actual Control, when Chinese soldiers abducted the teenager at gunpoint on January 18.

The central government had not given an official response to the kidnapping claims but unidentified officials of the defence forces had told PTI that the Indian Army asked the People’s Liberation Army for assistance to locate the missing boy and return him according to protocol.

He was handed over by the Chinese Army on January 27. But, his father alleged that his son was kicked several times and tortured in captivity.

“I urge the government to raise this issue with authorities concerned,” Gao told ANI on Wednesday. “This issue is not limited to Miram Taron. We have dense jungles in border areas where intruding PLA troops abduct our people when they go for hunting and collecting herbs.”

Such incidents, the MP added, will keep occurring until the Indian government resolves the boundary row. China has often claimed Arunachal Pradesh as part of its South Tibet region.

The BJP parliamentarian also told ANI that three workers had been abducted by an underground outfit from Arunachal Pradesh’s Longding district. “One of them was released, but two are still in their captivity,” he added. “I request [the] government of India to ensure that such incidents don’t recur during the ceasefire period.”