Tension grips Pilibhit after Indian national shot dead by cops in Nepal

An Indian national was killed in police firing along the Indo-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit district.

The man, identified as Govinda Singh, succumbed to the injuries sustained after being shot by the Nepal Police on Thursday, according to the Uttar Pradesh Police.

According to reports, the victim had gone to the border with two others, Pappu Singh and Gurmeet Singh, while returning from a market.

The three belonged to the Hajaara area of Pilibhit. They got into an argument with the Nepal Police which led to the clash and the subsequent firing. The issue of the argument is not known yet.

One of them fled the spot and crossed into the Indian border while the other one is missing.

Pilibhit Superintendent of Police (SP) Jai Prakash, said: "We have received information that three Indian nationals who had gone to Nepal had a confrontation with Nepal Police on some issue. One man has been shot and succumbed to injuries at a hospital. Another one crossed the border and entered the India side to save his life, while the third one is still missing."

Following the incident, there is tension in the area and police are monitoring the situation.

Forces along the border areas are on alert

Last year in an unprecedented incident of firing on Indians by the Nepal Armed Police Force, one person had died while three others suffered injuries.

The firing incident came amid tension between India and Nepal after Kathmandu passed an amendment to include in the Constitution a new map that showed Indian areas of Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura as part of its territory.

Smuggling of contraband is rampant across the Indp-Nepal border as smugglers rake in huge profits by evading customs duty and other taxes.

In December 2020, the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) seized smuggled jackets from Nepal worth Rs 8 lakhs at Tanakpur in Champawat district along the international border.

Prior to this, the SSB had seized smuggled cosmetics worth Rs 1 crore from the same border. Smuggling of petroleum products, including petrol and diesel, from Nepal has also been rising as the fuel prices spike in India.