The powers of search, arrest and seizure are normally vested to police and other investigating agencies. With India boosting the powers of SSB, Nepal´s arrangement in border security will look feeble as compared with India. [break]
Media reports said the SSB has been authorized to initiate legal action against persons involved in nefarious activities within 15 kilometers of the border on the Indian side. The paramilitary force has also been mandated to arrest any accused without warrant, search any place while pursuing an offender, seize suspected property or weapons and take necessary action to prevent crimes and harm to public property.
Nepal has been deploying Armed Police Force (APF) along the Indo-Nepal border, but without any clear authority on law enforcement. APF could only assist the civil police in emergency transborder crime issues as per instructions from the chief district officer concerned.
"We do not even have a mandate to repair pillars on the border, let alone any authority to take action in controlling transborder crimes," said Additional Inspector General of APF Koshraj Wanta. According to him, the APF has already forwarded a list of suggestions to revise its roles and rights in guarding the border.
The boosting of powers of SSB has raised eyebrows of some security experts here, specially as SSB has long accused of mistreatment and excesses upon Nepali citizens along the border.
Some raise eyebrows here as SSB has frequently been accused of meting out excesses to Nepalis along the border.
Nepal had raised the issue of SSB excesses during a bilateral home secretary level meeting in November 2009 and the Indian side was said to have assured Nepal of properly guiding the SSB on behavioral matters.
"What the government has to be careful in this context is to diplomatically check whether international behavioral norms on border security are followed [by SSB]," said security expert Dr Govinda Prasad Thapa, who is also the former AIG of Nepal Police.
Spokesperson for the Home Ministry Jay Mukunda Khanal said India granting more powers to SSB is not something supposed to be a matter of official information to the Nepal government.
"What we can only say is that something good on either side is necessarily good for both in terms of transborder crime control. But Nepal always upholds its concern about proper treatment to Nepali citizens [by Indian security men] along the border," he added.
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