Kathmandu, June 27: Nineteen Tibetan refugees who crossed over to Nepal en route to the Indian home of the Dalai Lama have been arrested for immigration violations, police officials said today. The 15 men and four women had reached the Nepalese town of Sanfebagar, about 600 kms northwest of Kathmandu on Tuesday when they were apprehended without proper travel documents.
The group was taken to district headquarters at Dipayal and will soon be brought to Kathmandu to be handed over to UN refugee officials, police said, speaking on condition of anonymity. They were heading towards Dharmsala in Himachal Pradesh where Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama lives in exile. Last month, Nepal handed over 18 Tibetan refugees to Chinese authorities causing wide condemnation by United States, Britain and the European Union. It was the first time that jailed Tibetans in Nepal were handed over to China. Bureau Report