New Delhi: An Indian Colonel and two soldiers were killed in a "violent face-off" on Monday night with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in Ladakh, in a massive escalation at a time there were efforts to defuse weeks of tension at the border. India retaliated and there were casualties on both sides, said the army. Army sources say the soldiers were not shot but were killed in a physical fight on Indian Territory that involved stones and batons. Major Generals of both sides are meeting currently, according to an official statement. This is the first violent incident involving fatalities since 1975 between India and China, who fought a brief border war in 1962.
The Indian and Chinese troops apparently clashed with rods and stones, much like what had happened on the north bank of Pangong Tso (Tso means lake) on May 5 and 6, which had left several soldiers on both sides injured and led to the military buildups all along the 3,488-km long Line of Actual Control from ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.
"During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place yesterday night with casualties on both sides. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers. Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation," the Indian Army said in a statement on Tuesday.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh has held a meeting with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, the three service chiefs and external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar. During the meeting, recent developments in Eastern Ladakh were discussed, according to reports (With Inputs from NDTV.)