Picture of Chinese tombstone confirming casualty in Galwan valley clash goes viral, govt still tight-lipped

The first piece of evidence of Chinese casualty in the Galwan valley clash might have slipped through the tight-lipped communist regime in China. A picture of a tombstone of a Chinese soldier in Galwan valley was doing the rounds on Chinese social media platform.

The image was shared on a military forum in China, and the tombstone describes certain details of the slain soldier. The picture identifies the soldier as Chen Xiangrong.

Many Twitter users have already shared the picture widely, and the picture gained traction in India.

"Tomb of Chen Xiangro. Soldier of the 69316 troops, from Pingnan, Fujian. He sacrificed his life in the struggle against India’s border troops in June 2020 and was posthumously remembered by the Central Military Commission." the epitaph reads in Mandarin.

Reportedly, the Chinese government has sent the soldier who put up the photo on the internet to jail.

It is to be noted that China is yet to issue any officil information about the number of casualties that took place on its side.

As many as 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in a violent face-off in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley in June after an attempt by the Chinese troops to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation in eastern Ladakh. 

The clash came even as the two countries were in talks to resolve the dispute at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).