Jawans crossed ‘inadvertently’ into Nepal

Indian officials in New Delhi said the patrol party of 13 SSB personnel followed the lead team of two jawans, identified as constables Roshan and Ramprasad of the 12th SSB Battalion deployed in the area, and “inadvertently” crossed over to Nepal — by about 50 metres, into Khuntanmani village — after which villagers surrounded the patrol. The incident occurred when the 13-member SSB patrol saw suspicious activity along the Ambari-Kesna border post and began a “hot pursuit” of the suspected smugglers.

“Thirteen of our men were detained by APF at a border post along the Indo-Nepal border. I had an interaction with the APF chief and IG, Mr Kesh Raj Onta, and he had assured that these men would be released,” SSB director-general B.D, Sharma told PTI in New Delhi earlier on Sunday.

Sharma said no “bodily harm” had been done to the SSB personnel and that they had been extended due courtesies by the APF. The paramilitary force guards the 1,751-km-long open frontier with Nepal.

Officials said the SSB personnel, led by a sub-inspector, had been on patrol in the area since early Sunday morning as the force had seized about 1,500 litres of diesel being allegedly smuggled to the other side on Saturday evening.

“Last night, our teams seized about 1,500 litres of diesel which was being smuggled from the same area on the border and hence the patrol party was on alert,” SSB I-G (operations) Deepak Kumar told PTI.

Last week, four Nepalese nationals had sustained injuries after being allegedly shot by SSB personnel in southern Nepal, near the border with India.

Relations between India and the neighbouring Nepal have nose-dived in recent months as Indian-origin Nepalese Madhesis protesting against the adoption of the new Constitution by Nepal have blocked key border trade points with India, causing severe shortages of fuel and other essentials in the Himalayan country.