India: Nepal trying to shift all blame to Sashastra Seema Bal

Indo-Nepalese bilateral ties seem to be sharply nose-diving with no solution in sight. India on Wednesday hit out at Nepal for “shifting” the blame of atrocities inside its “volatile” Sunsari district to the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) after Kathmandu alleged that the Indian force shot and inured four Nepalese on charges of smuggling chemical fertilisers, according to news agency reports.

“Armed Police Force, Nepal, is trying to shift blame for its atrocities inside the volatile and affected Sunsari district to SSB and India. SSB continues to facilitate while also maintaining order and security at the border,” an official source was quoted by PTI as saying.

The sharp reaction came after Nepalese officials alleged that some male residents of the border area in Sunsari district were shot by the SSB on suspicion of smuggling chemical fertilisers from India Wednesday morning. However, the injured said they were burning wood in the border village to keep themselves warm when the firing occurred.

Giving its side of the incident, India also asserted that an SSB patrol team of 1 ASI, 1 HC, 3 CTs came across four-five smugglers from Nepal at 5.20 am on Wednesday at the Sunsari border.

“When challenged, they called other nearby villagers and a mob of about 25 persons attacked the patrol team. They tried to drag head constable Ram Sevak to Nepal and hit him with a lathi which injured his thumb, resulting in a possible fracture. Seeing the threat, one constable fired six rounds in the air from his INSAS rifle due to which the crowd ran away,” a source said here.

“Later, at about 7.30 am, a Nepalese inspector, Jagah Bahadur Dulal, from APF from Bhantabari post, Sunsari, came to SSB BOP Shaileshpur and informed that three Nepalese persons sustained bullet injuries and are admitted in B.P. Koirala Hospital in Dharan,” the source said here. India also reiterated that the government continues to facilitate supplies to Nepal despite challenges.