KATHMANDU, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Nepali police on Monday arrested 11 Afghan nationals suspected of entering the country illegally.
Officers from the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police raided a house in Sinamangal in Kathmandu in the morning and detained 11 Afghans, including seven men and four women, over tip that they had entered Nepal through India.
"Five of them entered Nepal on Thursday while the others came some six weeks back," Deputy Inspector General of Nepal Police Dhiraj Pratap Singh, who also heads the Central Investigation Bureau, told Xinhua.
All the Afghan nationals have been transferred to the Department of Immigration for further action, he said, noting that Indian ration cards, which are used as a proof of identity, were found with six of the Afghans.
Police suspected the Afghans prepared the ration cards to show they are Indian nationals as Nepalis and Indians do not need passports for cross-border travel. The police are probing the authenticity of the cards, added Singh.
Meanwhile, some Afghans in Nepal have approached the UN High Commissioner for Refugees office in Kathmandu for protection.
"Five Afghans have approached us for protection. We are studying as to what sorts of support we can provide," Dipesh Das Shrestha from the office told Xinhua, noting the agency is checking whether the Afghans arrested by the police are among those who had sought its support. Enditem
