Archive · 19 Sep 2026
Ajit Doval Recalls Sikkim Intelligence Team’s Chinese Detention
Ajit Doval once worked as a young intelligence officer in Sikkim.
At that time, Sikkim was becoming part of India.
His work included watching the border and tracking the People's Liberation Army.
He sent a team to collect information near the border.
The team was supposed to return after about eight days but did not come back.
Doval worried that the members might be dead or missing.
He later learned that Chinese forces had captured and questioned them.
The team was eventually returned to India in very poor condition.
An investigation later said Doval was not responsible and that faulty maps and sketches had contributed to the problem.
Ajit Doval recalled a border intelligence mission from his early career in Sikkim, when he was a young IPS officer.
The team was expected to return in about eight days but remained missing for roughly 10 to 15 days.
Doval said headquarters later told him the personnel were in Chinese custody and had been interrogated.
The team was returned after what Doval described as talks, negotiations, or a possible deal, but came back in poor condition.
An inquiry found Doval was not at fault and cited defects and errors in maps and sketches supplied by headquarters.
- Who
- Ajit Doval and an Indian intelligence team operating in Sikkim.
- What
- A border intelligence team was detained and interrogated by Chinese forces after failing to return as expected.
- When
- During Doval’s early intelligence career, when he was in his twenties; he recalled the incident at an IIT Roorkee convocation.
- Where
- The Sikkim-China border and nearby border areas.
- Why
- The team was sent to collect intelligence about the movements and activities of the People's Liberation Army.
- Speaker
- Ajit Doval, India’s National Security Adviser
- Assignment
- Doval was a young Indian Police Service officer in charge of intelligence in Sikkim.
- Mission
- The team was tasked with gathering information about Chinese military activity near the border.
- Expected return
- The team was expected to return in about eight days; Doval described the delay as lasting roughly 10 to 15 days, while also recalling that headquarters expected it within five or six days.
- Detention
- Doval said the team was captured and interrogated by Chinese forces.
- Outcome
- The personnel were returned after possible talks, negotiations, or a deal, but came back totally shattered.
- Inquiry
- An investigation found Doval was not at fault and identified defects and mistakes in headquarters-provided maps and sketches.
- Sikkim’s status
- Sikkim became India’s 22nd state in 1975.
