Five Indians caught in Nepal with illegal arms

KATHMANDU: Five Indians have been arrested with illegal arms in a Nepal district along the Indian border.

The five men were arrested on Monday night in the Krishnanagar market area of Kapilavastu district, where Gautama Buddha was born.

Sanjay Kori, Balram Kori, Kalim Mussalman, Arjun Dubey and Shivaram Yadav were arrested on the suspicion that they were planning robberies. The group raised suspicions when they encountered a police patrol while trying to flee.

Police seized a pistol, bullets and iron rods from them. The arrested five are going to be charged with the violation of the arms and ammunition act, police said.

Cross-border crimes have become rife in Nepal with gangs from India extorting leading businessmen in the border towns. Kidnapping and assaults are on the rise, causing Nepal's business lobbies to ask the Indian government to step up action on Indian gangs.

There are media reports in Nepal that an Indian don, Chhota Rajan, continues to extort Nepal's business houses though he is currently in prison in India.