Indian killed in firing by Nepal cops near border
2 seriously injured, rushed to hospital
A man was killed and two others injured as the Nepalese border police opened unprovoked fire at them “deep inside Nepalese territory” on Friday, close to Bihar’s Sitamarhi district, officials said. An Indian national, Laagan Yadav, 45, was taken into custody by the Nepal armed police force (APF), they said.
Sashastra Seema Bal director-general Kumar Rajesh Chandra told PTI in New Delhi that the incident took place at around 8.40 am “deep inside Nepalese territory”. The situation “is now normal” and the SSB was in touch with the Nepal authorities, Mr Chandra said.
In Bihar, the Sitamarhi police said the incident took place after a clash between some Indians and the Nepal police at Lalbandi-Janki Nagar border in Pipra Parsain panchayat under Sonebarsha police station.
The dead man was identified as an Indian, Vikesh Kumar, 25. He died on the spot while two others — Uday Thakur, 24, and Umesh Ram, 18 — were seriously wounded. The police said the injured were rushed to a private hospital in Sitamarhi for treatment.
The SSB and senior district officials are camping near the border and monitoring the situation.
“The Nepal police opened fire after a clash broke out near the border at 8.30-9 am. A person was killed, and two others sustained bullet injuries. We have also been told a person has been detained by the Nepal police. The matter is being investigated and all necessary legal steps are being taken”,
Sitamarhi SP Anil Kumar said. Sources said the agricultural land of one of the three men fired upon was near the border, and “they were working in their fields when the Nepal armed police started firing indiscriminately, in which one person died and a few others were injured”.
According to preliminary information from locals, the confrontation began when APF troops objected to the presence of Laagan Yadav’s daughterin-law in their area after they saw her talking to some people from India. Laagan Yadav’s daughterin-law is from Nepal.
There are relations between locals on both sides of the border, and as the frontier is not fenced, people move around to meet family members, the officials said.
APF personnel objected to this meeting, after
which there was a heated argument between the two sides.
Later, about 75-80 Indians gathered at the spot, they said.
The APF claimed they first fired in the air to disperse the crowd as they feared the snatching of their weapons. They then initiated direct fire, in which three people got hit, the officials added.
India shares a 1,850-km porous border with Nepal, where people travel freely for work and to visit family and friends. The state government had sealed the Indo-Nepal border in March amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The incident comes amid heightened border tensions between the two countries. In May, the Nepal government had issued a controversial map that showed India’s Kalapani and Lipu Lekh as its own.
THE DEAD man was identified as an Indian, Vikesh Kumar, 25. He died on the spot while two others — Uday Thakur, 24, and Umesh Ram, 18 — were seriously wounded