Two Chinese held near Indo-Nepal border in Sitamarhi
PATNA: Two Chinese nationals were arrested in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district on Sunday evening after they were caught crossing the Indo-Nepal border without any valid documents, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) officials said.
According to SSB commander Rajan Kumar Srivastava, the two Chinese nationals have been identified as Yung Hai Lung (34) and Lo Lung (28). “They were caught around 7.45 pm while they were trying to enter Nepal from India through the Bhithamore border outpost, which falls under the jurisdiction of Susand police station in Sitamarhi,” the SSB commander said.
Two passports, mobile phones, power banks, ATM cards, $133 in US currency, ₹2,000 in Indian currency, medicines, cigarettes, and airline boarding passes were seized from their possession, SSB officials said, adding that the seized ATM cards were allegedly issued by a private bank in the names of two Assamese citizens.
“An FIR (first information report) has been lodged based on the statement of an SSB personnel, identified as Murari Kumar, in connection with their ‘illegal’ entry, and ‘financial fraud’. Both were produced before a court on Monday and sent to judicial custody,” said Sitamarhi superintendent of police (SP)Harkishore Rai.
Officials said that the Union ministry of external affairs (MEA) has been alerted regarding the development.
During a joint interrogation by the SSB and Sitamarhi police, they found that the Chinese nationals reached Kathmandu from Thailand on May 23 with a woman and held a Nepali visa for a month.
“On May 24, they hired a taxi and travelled to Noida where they stayed at the flat of another Chinese national, identified as Jacky, till June 10 before returning to Bhithamore in a taxi. After arriving in Sitamarhi, they boarded a rickshaw to enter the Nepal border when the SSB personnel intercepted them near pillar number 301, around 10 metres within Indian territory,” the investigation revealed.
The SP said that the Chinese nationals confessed they entered Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh via the Nepal border.
SSB deputy inspector general of police (DIG) K Ranjit said that both have been handed over to the police for further interrogation. “The SSB intelligence is also in the process of collecting more details about their movements and reasons to visit Noida from Nepal via Bihar,” the DIG said.
Earlier on December 19, 2021, a 39-year-old Chinese national was arrested from Madhubani’s Madhwapur block in Bihar.