One person died, while two others were injured after Nepal police allegedly fired indiscriminately on Friday, June 12, in the bordering district of Sitamarhi in Bihar. The incident happened amid the ongoing border dispute between India and Nepal.
Inspector General (IG) of the Sashastra Seema Bal's Patna Frontier, Sanjay Kumar confirmed the firing. He also said that the incident took place between locals and the Armed Police Force (APF) of Nepal.
Reportedly, the man was working on the farm when bullets were fired from the Nepali side of the border. The deceased, identified as 25-year-old Nageshwar Rai, was a resident of Janan Nagar Tolle Lalbandi.
The injured have been rushed to Sitamarhi Sadar Hospital for treatment.
According to the locals, 17 rounds of bullets were fired. The locals had a confrontation with the APF over accessing an area near the international border and later, a scuffle took place between the two sides resulting in the firing.
The firing happened after a clash between the Indian-Nepal forces at the Lalbandi-Janki Nagar border in Pipra Parsain panchayat under Sonebarsha police station of the Sitamarhi district. The place of firing falls under the Nepal jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, the Nepal police have claimed that they opened fire after the locals tried to snatch their weapons.
India-Nepal ties
The ties between India and Nepal came under strain after Union Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand earlier this week.
However, Nepal reacted sharply to the inauguration of the road and said that it passed through their territory. India rejected the claim asserting that the road lies completely within its territory.
India sternly asked Nepal not to resort to any "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims after Kathmandu released the new map.
On March 22, Nepal had closed its international borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
