A police patrol encountered the smugglers at Seuchula in Bajhang district and both the sides started firing at 10:45 am and continued till 5 am Monday, according to District Police Office (DPO), Bajhang. [break]
No one was injured in the gunbattle. Police inspector Jaya Singh Bista said the smugglers fled the scene and the patrol recovered seven sacks of hashish from the clash site.
DPO-Bajhang said police fired 14 bullets while the smugglers fired over a dozen bullets during the encounter. Police are searching for the smugglers who numbered around 100.
More police have been deployed from other nearby police stations for the search.
The incident site is one day´s trek from Chainpur, the district headquarters.
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