AIZAWL: Two teenage boys from Zokhawthar village in Mizoram returned home after being held by a Myanmarese militia for close to a week, an Assam Rifles officer said.
The two boys, aged 16 and 15 years, were kidnapped by the Hualngoram unit of the Chin Defence Force-a militia locked in combat with the military government of Myanmar.
They were allegedly kidnapped on September 1, from Rih Dil Lake, a tourist spot in Myanmar near the Indian border. The CDF released them in the evening of September 6.
The incident created much tension in the Zokhawthar area as the locals were demanding the release of the two boys, a resident, Lalmuanpuia, the president of the Zokhawthar village council said.
Moreover, they reminded the people of Chin that their people were welcomed and given shelter by the Mizos.
Out of the five, three boys escaped and returned to India while two others were held hostage by the CDF. According to him, the two boys were kept in the Rihdil area for two days and later they were taken to Liando Camp of Seik village in Myanmar on September 3. There, in the jail, they were tortured, it added.
He said the boys had their heads shaved, their heads and bodies burned with cigarette butts, and one of them had his front teeth pulled out. This could have been a way for the militia to show their strength in this area near the border and to gain greater leverage over the local leaders.
She also said the CDF is now collecting taxes on all goods traveling to and from India, under protection of the Chin National Army-cum-an armed group based in Chin State.
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