In view of the treacherous and deceptive attacks by the Chinese troops on the Indian soldiers on Monday night, the Northern Command has begun equipping its soldiers with lightweight riot gear.
According to a report on India Today by defence journalist Sandeep Unnithan, the first consignment of 500 sets of full-body protectors was airlifted from the Mumbai-based supplier to Leh where it is to be distributed among troops deployed along the LAC.
Indian soldiers along LAC to be provided full-body lightweight riot gear and spiked clubs
The report says that the new bodysuit which would be provided to our soldiers along the LAC would comprise of padded polycarbonate inserts and would protect wearers from, significantly, sharp objects and stones. It is being said that the army also plans to equip its troops along the LAC with spiked clubs.
One senior military analyst who did not want to be named worried over the optics of gearing the army with riot control protectors said: “It means changing an army man’s mindset into a policeman’s.”
Chinese troops ruthlessly attacked unarmed Indian soldiers with rods studded with spikes and nails
This decision has come in the aftermath of the June 15 ambush, in which, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had ruthlessly attacked our soldiers with rods studded with spikes and nails.
PLA had, on Monday night, launched savage and deceptive attacks, many to a ‘point of mutilation’ against the Indian troops. The Chinese troops reportedly trapped and encircled around 120 Indian unarmed soldiers and attacked them with iron-studded and fence wire wrapped rods type objects.
The Chinese PLA reportedly held firearms to faces of Indian soldiers, brutally tortured some Indian soldiers to death. The sources to IANS added that the Indian soldiers did not retaliate with guns and followed government directions not to use firearms. The hand-to-hand fight between the two forces erupted. However, PLA troopers used all kinds of weapons against the Indian soldiers, who bravely fought and tried to control the situation.
The Indian Army troopers, who confronted the Chinese troops near the patrolling point number 14 at the Galwan valley were also outnumbered by 1:5 ratio when they came under attack from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers.
Reportedly, China is also said to have used thermal imaging drones to trace the Indian Army soldiers scattered on the treacherous terrain before brutally attacking them.
Indian soldiers were attacked to the “point of mutilation”
Colonel Santosh Babu, who martyred during the Monday night clashes at PP-14, along with a small team was patrolling at the spot to check whether Chinese troops had withdrawn from the standoff position, as promised by them. However, the Chinese had trapped the Indian soldiers and brutally attacked them to the “point of mutilation”.
The Indian Army added that the Indian troops had reached the spot where the clashes happened without any animosity and were displaying friendly gestures to the Chinese side that they were there to check if the de-escalation agreement was being followed as promised. “But they trapped and carried out the attacks, a purely savage act,” the Indian Army official said to IANS.
India lost 20 of its brave soldiers in the skirmish, while the Chinese troops also suffered severe casualties as at least 43 Chinese troops are either injured or dead during the attacks that took place on Monday night.
