India orders enquiry into death of Nepali citizen

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Following the death of a Nepali national on the India-Nepal border, allegedly in a firing incident involving border guards of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), India on Friday initiated an enquiry into the matter, an official said.

"The Government of Nepal is being requested through diplomatic channels to share post-mortem and forensic reports to facilitate the process," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.

Govinda Gautam, 20, of Punarbas Municipality-8 in Kanchanpur district of Nepal, died on Thursday after he was injured when an SSB inspector from Sampurnanagar station allegedly opened fire.

"Officials of the two bordering districts - Kanchanpur of Nepal and Lakhimpur Kheri of India - have met in the backdrop of the prevailing situation and agreed to maintain peace and order," he added.

The incident took place in Ananda Bazar along the Nepal-India border.

The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, however, categorically denied any firing by the SSB personnel.

A dispute erupted in the border area after Nepal-India pillar number 200 went missing and both sides staked claim and counter-claim over the area in No-man's Land.

The Nepali side was constructing a culvert in an area that is claimed by India. The situation became tense on Thursday after the SSB personnel, who were accompanied by residents of the Indian border town of Basahi, allegedly fired in the air.

Nepali residents said the SSB personnel contended that Indian territory was being transgressed upon in the digging for the culvert.

--IANS

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