11 Afghans detained in Kathmandu for illegal entry in country

KATHMANDU: Police in Kathmandu on Monday arrested 11 Afghan nationals suspected of entering the country illegally. Acting on a tip-off, a team of security personnel deployed from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police raided a house in Sinamangal, Kathmandu in the morning and detained 11 Afghans, including seven men and four women. "Five of them entered Nepal on Thursday while the others came some six weeks back," Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Nepal Police Dhiraj Pratap Singh, who also heads the Central Investigation Bureau, informed. All the Afghan nationals have been transferred to the Department of Immigration for further action, DIG Singh said, noting that Indian ration cards, which are used as a proof of identity, were found with six of the Afghans. Police suspected that the Afghans prepared the ration cards to show they were Indian nationals as Nepalis and Indians do not need passports for cross-border travel. The police are probing the authenticity of the cards, added Singh. Meanwhile, some Afghans in Nepal have approached the UN High Commissioner for Refugees office in Kathmandu for protection. "Five Afghans have approached us for protection. We are studying as to what sorts of support we can provide," Dipesh Das Shrestha from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees office said and added, that the agency was checking whether the Afghans arrested by police were among those who had sought its support.

Source: RSS/Xinhua

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