Nepal Police Open Fire at Indo-Nepal Border
An Indian national has been seriously injured after the Nepal Armed Police Force, open fired at the Indo-Nepal border in Bihar.
India and Nepal have a border of 1,850-kilometre and people travel across it for work and to visit family. Nepal had closed its international borders on March 22 due to the coronavirus pandemic. On the India-Nepal border in Bihar’s Kishanganj district on Saturday (18th July) night, 25-year-old Jitendra Kumar living near the Tola Mafi village situated on the India-Nepal border, had gone to find his cattle at around 7:30pm. He had gone along with his two friends Ankit Kumar Singh and Gulshan Kumar Singh. When the three walked towards a farm outside the village, the Nepal Armed Police Force (NAPF) deployed along the India-Nepal border opened fire at the three of them, injuring Jitendra Kumar. Jitendra has been rushed to the hospital and his condition is critical. The local police and 12th Battalion of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) have been informed about the matter.
The SSBs 12th Battalion Commandant Lalit Kumar said that Nepal Armed Police Force opened fire on the suspicion that they were cattle smugglers. Entering the 'no man's land' is prohibited during the lockdown, he said, adding the Nepalese force opened fire following an altercation. The Nepalese personnel fired four rounds. On June 12, an Indian national was killed while two others were injured in firing by the NAPF on the Indo-Nepal border near Lalbandi Janki Nagar village in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district. The incidents have occurred at a time when India has strongly objected to Nepal releasing a new map claiming the Indian territories of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura, which are in Uttrakhand.
