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16-08-2022
Bureau Report + BBC
NEW DELHI/ SIACHEN GLACIER: The body of an Indian soldier who went missing 38 years ago in the Himalayas has been discovered, BBC reported.
In 1984, Chandrashekhar Harbola and 19 colleagues were caught in an avalanche while patrolling in the Siachen glacier along the India-Pakistan border.
Later, 15 bodies were discovered, but five people were still missing.
Soldiers from both countries are killed in storms and avalanches on the world’s highest battlefield, Siachen.
The army unit that discovered Harbola’s body also discovered another, which has yet to be identified, according to a news agency.
Harbola’s family, who live in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand’s Haldwani district, said the discovery would give them closure. In Harbola’s village, a full military funeral has been planned.
This is not the first time a soldier’s body has been discovered decades later. Tukaram V Patil’s body was discovered by a patrolling unit in 2014, 21 years after he went missing in the glaciers.
Siachen has long been a source of contention between India and Pakistan. Talks have been held, but without success.
In 1984, troops from the nuclear-armed neighbours fought a brief battle to reclaim control of the Siachen glacier.
Almost four decades later, troops from both countries remain stationed in the harsh terrain.
In 2012, an avalanche near the Siachen glacier killed at least 129 Pakistani soldiers. The incident prompted calls for India and Pakistan to withdraw their troops from the contested area, but the neighbours were unable to reach an agreement.
At least ten Indian soldiers died in an avalanche in 2016, and four more died in similar circumstances in 2019.
