About 30 Indians crossed about 100 metres into Nepal’s territory, officials said (File)

Patna:

Nepali border guards opened fire today after a group of Indians crossed over in a local dispute, killing a 22-year-old man and causing tension on the India-Nepal border along a Bihar district.

An Indian man, 45-year-old Laghan Yadav, was detained by the Nepal Armed Police Force, said the chief of Sashastra Seema Bal, the force guarding the Indian side of the 1,751 km frontier that is traditionally open.

The situation is normal now and local commanders of both sides got in touch immediately, said Kumar Rajesh Chandra, Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal.

The row reportedly involved the Nepali daughter-in-law of Laghan Yadav, who lives in Bihar’s Sitamarhi, 134 km from Patna. Around 8.45 AM, Laghan Yadav had crossed over to speak with his daughter-in-law.

About 30 Indians crossed about 100 metres into Nepal’s territory and clashed with the police when stopped, Agence France Presse quoted a Nepal police officer, Ganga Ram Shrestha, as saying.

The Nepali border guards fired 10 times in the air and five times at a crowd that gathered and allegedly threw stones at the police.

“In all a crowd of 80 gathered. It is a local issue. Laghan yadav was talking to his daughter-in-law when the Nepal policemen objected. Locals then called their supporters,” Kumar Rajesh Chandra told NDTV.

“The Nepal police fired 15 rounds, 10 in the air and five parallel to the ground, when the crowd did not disperse,” Mr Chandra said.

One man, Vikas Yadav, was shot in the chest and died in hospital. Two more were injured, Umesh Ram and Uday Thakur.

Three Nepali border police were also injured, according to the country’s police.

Districts on both sides maintain contact and in the absence of any fence, people move freely to meet family members. In recent months, Nepali authorities have stepped up border security because of a coronavirus lockdown.

The incident comes in the middle of a boundary row with India sternly asking Nepal not to resort to any “artificial enlargement” of territorial claims after Kathmandu released a new political map laying claim over parts of Indian Territory like Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura.

New Delhi maintains that these were part of Uttarakhand while Kathmandu, in its recent map, featured them as part of Western Nepal.