Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday said bad weather had delayed the return of Arunachal Pradesh youth Miram Taron, who was reportedly captured by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army last week when he had gone hunting with a friend.

“Hotline exchanged on Republic Day by Indian Army with Chinese PLA. PLA responded positively indicating handing over of our national and suggested a place of release. They are likely to intimate date and time soon. Delay attributed to bad weather conditions on their side,” Rijiju, who is from Arunachal Pradesh, said in a tweet.

Last week, Rijiju’s party colleague and BJP MP from Arunachal Pradesh Tapir Gao had tweeted alleging that the PLA had abducted Taron on January 18 from the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control.

The BJP parliamentarian had said Taron’s abduction had been reported to the authorities by his friend who escaped. Another Twitter user had said Taron was taken from a jungle where he and his friend had gone hunting.

The Indian Army had earlier said that it had sought the assistance of the PLA to “locate and return” the 17-year-old Taron.

The army informed the PLA that an individual who was collecting herbs and hunting had lost his way and could not be found. Assistance from the PLA was sought to locate the individual on the Chinese side and return him as per established protocol.

The Indian Army also shared the identity, personal details and a photo of the missing youth with the Chinese.

The alleged abduction came at a time when India and China have been locked in border disputes since May 2020.