Nepali authorities said that they were not even notified by the Indian side about the move.Four Indian policemen, who came on two motorbikes, apprehended Jugesh Bahadur,35, from a tea shop at the bus park, and whisked him away after a brief conversation, said Bahadur´s mother-in-law Radha Devi. [break]
Disappointed with the development, the Nepali authorities have decided to seek clarification from India on the matter. "We won´t demand the return of Bahadur, but the Indian authorities should clarify their motive behind arresting the alleged culprits in such a covert way," said Superintendent of Police (SP) Niraj Shah.
It was not that the Nepali authorities were completely unaware of the presence of the Indian policemen at Rangeli. The traffic police personnel had stopped them after they were spotted riding the bikes without wearing helmets.
"When we were about to book them, they told us that they were here in an official visit and were heading to meet Inspector Madhab Kafle. Then we escorted them to the Inspector´s office," said one of the traffic policemen.
Kafle told Republica that the Indian policemen did meet him, but they never mentioned about their plan to arrest Bahadur.
He also informed that the Nepali authorities were searching him, acting on the request from the Indian side.
“It´s not that we were not searching him, but he was always on the run," added Kafle.
After the local police came to realize that their Indian counterparts were whisking Bahadur away, they had informed the Armed Police Force personnel deployed along the border to stop them-but it was too late.
"When we received an order to arrest the Indian policemen they had already crossed the border," said Kafle.
Bahadur, who hails from Kuwadi village across the border in the Indian state of Bihar, was taking shelter in his mother-in-law´s place for the past few days.
He reportedly fled to Nepal after the Indian police launched a manhunt to apprehend his after a girl from his village eloped with his brother Bhawesh.
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