Three years ago, the government had put forward the concept of ‘Digital Border Management System’ (DBMS) under a multi-year plan to secure international borders with India and China and prevent/control cross-border crime. In the first phase, the Armed Police Force was approved to build physical infrastructure under technology-friendly border management, ensuring a budget of about Rs 1 billion.

In the first phase, it was mentioned that the construction of checkpoints and electric poles, installation of CCTV, electronic recording of movement, digital recording, etc. would be carried out from the international border crossings from Jhapa in the east to Kanchanpur in the far west towards Nepal based on strategic importance. Similarly, the area where the border outpost is located towards China was included in the plan for the construction of systematic infrastructure.

Then, the Armed Police Force started internal preparations to implement the plan from the fiscal year 2079/80. However, before the implementation of the plan began, the Ministry of Home Affairs gave a 'sudden' instruction - 'postpone the work for now.' Then, the Ministry of Finance stopped the budget that had already been secured. With that, the work of installing a digital system in the border management concept was stopped.

This issue was also raised again in the Central Revenue Leakage Control Committee meeting held at the Armed Police Force Headquarters under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal in the third week of December. In the meeting, the Armed Forces prepared a blueprint for technology-friendly border security/cross-border crime prevention and control with a cost estimate of about 3 billion rupees and submitted it to Minister Khanal. In the past, there has been a tendency to ensure resources for the plan, then amend it again before implementation, so it is doubtful that this proposal will be implemented.

Anand Kafle, spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs, says that technology-friendly border security and crime prevention and control are the government's priorities. ‘This issue has been raised for a long time, it has also come up in discussions, we are of the opinion that technology should be used more and more in the prevention and control of cross-border crime and international border security,’ he says, ‘It is also necessary, the Armed Forces have also raised this agenda, we will gradually implement it based on the availability of resources.’

At a program organized on Friday on the occasion of the 25th anniversary (silver jubilee) of the establishment of the Armed Police Force, Inspector General of the Armed Police Force Raju Aryal reiterated the need for technology-friendly resources in border security, prevention and control of cross-border crime and internal security. Aryal also claimed that the Armed Forces have been effectively performing its responsibilities including international border security and prevention and control of cross-border crime since its establishment. For that, he comments that resource and human resource management as well as the cooperation of the border residents are also indispensable. Since its establishment, the Armed Forces has been deployed as the leading force in border security. However, there has also been criticism of some illegal and unprofessional activities of the forces deployed in the field.

Although surveillance and regulation with CCTV have been arranged at about a dozen major Nepal-India border points, there is a compulsion to regulate other places through human security. The illegal benefits of this are being taken by the armed forces deployed in the field and other parties involved in illegal activities. Due to the lack of digital evidence, surveillance and regulation of both these parties have not been possible.

There are difficulties in regulating criminal activities and border movement through medium, small and petty customs and border checkpoints on the Nepal-India border crossing of about 1,880 km. The lack of evidence is also being shown as the main reason for the scientific identification of those involved in crimes committed at checkpoints where technology is not available and action against the guilty. However, the government has not paid attention to the development of infrastructure for digital evidence.

On the midnight of 16th December 2003, Vijay Sah, 45, of Koshi Rural Municipality-1, Sunsari, who had secretly entered Nepal from India with 10 sacks of sugar, was shot dead by the Armed Police Force. The Armed Police Force claimed that Sah, a rickshaw driver who had entered Nepal carrying 10 sacks of sugar through the Nepal-India border post at Laukahi, was killed in a retaliatory action after he clashed with a team deployed for border security. However, reliable evidence of what happened that night has not been made public yet. Due to the lack of CCTV installation, it was forced to take the witness statement as the main evidence.

It is possible to travel to China through the 1,414 km long border with prior permission (visa) and in the case of locals, it is possible to travel on the basis of a pass issued by the border/district administration. Due to the open border, the government mechanism is challenged to manage cross-border movement. Its illegal benefits are being exploited by those involved in crimes ranging from customs fraud, theft and smuggling to transnational gang activities and infiltration of third-country nationals.

Since most of the borders are under the open border concept, the movement of citizens of the two countries is easy. However, the lack of use of technology in crime prevention and control and illegal activities at the border has become more challenging. The issue of making border security and prevention and control of cross-border crime technology-friendly was also raised in the Border Security Coordination Meeting held in the Indian capital, New Delhi on 26 Kartik 2082, which was attended by Nepal's Armed Police Inspector General Raju Aryal and Indian Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Director General Sanjay Singhal. Finally, both sides agreed on this issue and the meeting decided to implement it through the governments of both countries. However, the government has not been able to address this issue so far. Except for Karnali, more than two dozen southern districts of all seven provinces are connected to India.

According to the Survey Department, Koshi Province shares a border with India of 440 km, Madhes 435 km, Bagmati 88 km, Gandaki 4 km, Lumbini 445 km and Sudurpaschim 468 km in length. The Armed Police Force has established Border Out Posts (BOPs) at 249 places for border security and prevention and control of cross-border crime with India. It is mandatory to operate from these BOPs on the 1880 km long border. The distance from one BOP to another is as far as 109 km. Since security surveillance is weak, people involved in crime have been taking advantage of it.

There are more than 1,500 border crossings with India, including formal, informal and checkpoints. Although smuggling and other criminal activities occur more through border crossings than through formal border crossings, regulation and control have not been effective.

In a revenue leakage control meeting held three weeks ago, Inspector General of Armed Police Raju Aryal had said that effective work can be done only if digital systems are used with importance in addition to human security. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government established and operated checkpoints at more than 1,400 places on the border, but now they are limited to the BOP and its subordinates.

Always a fight at the border

Residents of the border area accuse security personnel of giving discounts to big traders and causing trouble to small traders. Security personnel, on the other hand, say that when security checks are tightened by showing government rules that customs revenue must be paid when goods worth more than one hundred rupees are brought from India, angry locals get into trouble with the security personnel. The Nepal-India border area has been considered a 'hotspot' for smuggling since the past. In recent years, clashes between security personnel and smugglers in the border districts of Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari in Koshi Province have further exposed the sensitivity and challenges of border security. The conflict between the smuggling control efforts and the groups protecting illegal trade has sometimes created a situation of distrust and tension among the security personnel.

On 16 Poush, a rickshaw driver was killed by the Armed Police Force in the border area of ​​Sunsari. The situation had been tense for some time after the death of 45-year-old Vijay Sah. After returning from discussions with Indian security forces in Siliguri, India, Inspector General of Armed Police Force Raju Aryal said at the eastern border post, ‘The security challenge in the border area has increased. Please help us.’ Another serious incident of a similar nature took place in Jhapa on 20 Falgun 2080. In the clash between the Armed Police Force team deployed on duty and the smugglers, both sides were injured. Armed Police Inspector Hari Prasad Rimal and Assistant Constable Durga Chandra Basnet were injured in the attack by smugglers. Basnet had to undergo surgery after sustaining a serious injury to his hand. On 20 December 2077, there was also a clash between police and smugglers in Materuwa, Biratnagar Metropolitan City-17, Morang. Stones were pelted on the Armed Police when they tried to take control of the goods that had been illegally crossed the border. In the process, the police had to fire a round in the air.

The police administration does not see that goods are being smuggled in trucks. But we are being made to suffer for our daily work. - Sanjeev Mandal'

There are examples of not only the general public and security personnel, but also security personnel clashing with each other over the issue of smuggling control. On 23 Ashad 2079, a clash took place between the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force in Kakarbhitta, Mechinagar Municipality-6, Jhapa. The dispute escalated when the Armed Police Force tried to stop the smuggling after receiving information that betel nut was being smuggled through the border. Sanjeev Mandal, a local from Morang, has alleged that the highest levels of the security forces are involved in major smuggling incidents in collusion, but they are causing trouble to the common people who cross the border for a living. ‘The police and administration do not see that goods are being smuggled in trucks,’ he complains, ‘but we are being made to suffer for our daily work.’

These incidents show how organized and violent smuggling has become in the border area. Attacks on security personnel, stone-pelting and the use of khukuri have added challenges to the agencies deployed for border security, a security official said. Sometimes, the distrust and accusations seen among security personnel have made smuggling control more complicated.

These clashes at the border checkpoints are not only a question of smuggling control, but also a matter related to the coordination, transparency and accountability of the security mechanism. A strong strategy, cooperation with the local community and clear coordination between security personnel are necessary to control smuggling. Otherwise, the clashes in the border area are likely to take a more serious form in the future.

The same problem is also present at the western checkpoints.

On the night of 1 Chaitra 2081, Indian citizens entered Nepal and looted a house in Dodhara Chandni, Kanchanpur. Even when the armed police officers nearby tried to stop the looting, the Indian citizens did not stop. They started snatching the weapons of the armed police officers. The armed police officers managed to save the weapons by beating them with sticks. Locals also helped in this. No action was taken against those involved in the incident. On the contrary, the incident was resolved through reconciliation between security personnel and public representatives from both sides.

In 2078, Indian citizens attacked an armed police team deployed on duty in Kanjbhoj, Dodhara Chandni Municipality-8. Three armed police personnel were injured after being attacked by a group of Indian smugglers. The smugglers had pelted stones at security personnel on patrol at night. At the request of the police administration, the Indian police made it look like they had taken action against them. Such incidents are repeated every year in the border area. Indian citizens have attacked not only Nepali citizens but also security personnel in the border area. However, action against those involved in this is very rare.

Sometimes there are incidents of Indians attacking security personnel in border disputes and sometimes in disputes between locals. ‘From the lack of technology to the open border, such problems arise from time to time,’ says SP Lokendra Bhatt of the Armed Police Force’s 35th Battalion in Jhalari, ‘But we are working in coordination between the security agencies on both sides to ensure border security and control cross-border crime.’ In Kanchanpur, from Brahmadev to Punarbas, the Indians have been using force on the border at more than half a dozen places.

A month and a half ago, after receiving information about the entry of smuggled goods, a team of the Armed Police Force reached Bethari Bazaar in Mayadevi Rural Municipality of Rupandehi. They reached there and tried to take control of the minitruck. The Armed Police Force deployed under the command of the DSP had to stop the vehicle. After receiving information that the security personnel had arrived, the locals obstructed it. The police had to save their lives when the minitruck driver started driving left and right. The locals had obstructed it saying that they were not allowed to take the smuggled goods. Last Bhadra, the Armed Police Force tried to seize chemical fertilizers imported from India at the same march in Rupandehi.

There too, the locals retaliated. The Armed Police Force could not take control of the fertilizer truck after they took to the road with sticks. ‘The locals retaliated when they tried to seize the smuggled goods,’ said a DSP deployed at the border. ‘The smugglers’ group is keeping an eye on the security personnel.’ According to the DSP, the people involved in smuggling communicate through ‘conference calls.’ As soon as one person sees the security personnel, they inform everyone. The checkpoints and routes they use vary. As soon as the police find them, they start retaliating. Such incidents have been repeated in the march and Lumbini areas of Rupandehi, due to which tension is created at the open checkpoints from time to time.

On 5 Jestha 2078, the Armed Police Force opened fire near the Nepal-India border at Susta-5 Nathui in West Nawalparasi. Stone-pelting had started after an argument between local youth and the Armed Police Force deployed for border security. After the tension escalated, 22-year-old Avinash Rajbhar of Pratappur-6 was injured when the security forces opened fire. He died during treatment at the CT Hospital in Butwal, Rupandehi. The security forces were also injured during the protest of angry locals after the incident. A dispute had erupted between the locals and the security forces after the security forces stopped them for trying to go to India during the Corona pandemic.

Since tradition, local citizens have been dependent on the cross-border market. When security forces deployed for border security stop them, the locals retaliate. There is also a tradition of many citizens living in the border areas getting married across the border. That is why they keep crossing the border for normal business. Border residents accuse security personnel of giving concessions to big traders and hurting small traders. On the night of 10 October, a clash broke out between security personnel and locals while checking at Basaiya border checkpoint in Pratappur rural municipality. Security personnel had to fire in the air to disperse the crowd. As the dispute escalated, a group of 30-35 people came and tried to attack the security personnel.

We could not explain to the traders that smuggling should not be done and the government could not control it either - Pavitra Khadka, Information Officer, Nepalgunj Customs Office

‘We traders could not explain that smuggling should not be done and the government could not control it,’ he said. Information Officer of Nepalgunj Customs Office Pavitra Khadka said that disputes arise due to the mentality of why people should pay revenue when bringing goods from India. When trying to control those involved in smuggling, the community would come and argue with the security personnel and try to attack them, so force had to be used, says Santosh Rayamajhi, Chief of the Armed Police Force Nepal No. 26 Battalion Headquarters. Despite the police's efforts to control smuggling, the government's weakness is the reason why the problem persists, says Krishna Prasad Shrestha, central member of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Nepalgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry had also submitted a seven-point memorandum to the Lumbini Provincial Government demanding control of smuggling through open border crossings.

Always tense at Madhesh border crossings

While the police were checking the paint box brought from India by two women in front of the customs office in Gaur, Rautahat, a bicycle fell down. After that, a tug-of-war broke out between the security personnel deployed there and the woman. The woman left with the goods she had brought. The security personnel claim that the woman who brought the paint in this way is a professional. ‘We can easily distinguish which goods are brought for home and which are smuggled,’ says a security guard on duty, ‘They attack us on the pretext of bringing in household goods.’ This is just one example.

Locals do not stop bringing goods from across the border. The police keep stopping and questioning and checking. After questioning the person bringing in the goods for a while, an argument breaks out. On the evening of July 19, a clash broke out between the Armed Police Force and a group of smugglers in Duhabi, Bideha Municipality-2, Dhanusha. The clash took place while taking control of the smuggled goods. Six security personnel, including DSP Dinesh Sharma, were injured in the clash. The security personnel fired 12 rounds of tear gas and 4 rounds of air fire in self-defense.

On July 21, 2082, another clash broke out between the Armed Police Force and the smugglers at the same place. Security personnel had to fire four rounds in the air in the clash. A clash took place in a mango orchard in Bideh-2, Duhabi while taking control of goods illegally brought from India. A team deployed under the command of DSP from the proposed border security force Mahinathpur tried to take control of the illegal goods when stones were pelted on the security personnel.

On 17 Kartik 2079, three policemen, including a 14-year-old boy, were injured in a clash between the police and a group of smugglers in Bara. 12 rounds of air fire were fired to control the clash that took place at night in Suvarnapur rural municipality.

If we look at the events in Madhesh alone in the last five years, violent clashes have been taking place frequently between border security personnel and groups involved in transporting goods from Saptari to Parsa in the border districts of Madhesh Province. Civilians who were allegedly involved in smuggling have been killed in the clashes. In some cases, security personnel have been beaten up.

Former Inspector General of Police Basanta Bahadur Kunwar says that it should not be understood that the police met with smugglers in the border area and that the locals' non-cooperation in trying to stop smuggling has caused problems. 'Now, CCTV cameras should be installed in the border area. We should continue to modernize,' he says, 'First of all, no matter how much the police try to stop it at the border, problems appear if there is a conflict of interests. Now, the concept of a digital and controlled border should be introduced. Otherwise, the problem will remain the same.'

DIG Krishna Dhakal, Chief of the Madhesh Province Office of the Armed Police Force, Bardibas, says that the question of citizen-friendly police or police-friendly citizens is important. 'The armed police force has always worked hand in hand with the citizens. It seems that their jobs have been taken away by tightening the border,' he said, 'because citizens do not understand their responsibilities, there is a problem in the border area.'

Sugar, clothes, processed and unprocessed food items, cement, vehicle parts and electronic equipment coming to Nepal from India are the main items of smuggling. Madhesh Province Police Chief DIG Govinda Thapaliya says that every effort is being made to stop smuggling in the border area.

On the afternoon of November 21, an Armed Police Force team reached the scene after a fight between two groups at the passenger branch of the Birgunj Customs Office in Parsa. More than 150 locals surrounded the main gate of the Customs Office, accusing the Armed Police Force deployed on duty of behaving indecently. Later, a large number of security personnel dispersed the crowd by pacifying them.

According to Armed Police Superintendent of Armed Police Battalion No. 28, Netra KC, concessions are being given to locals based on their family and how they live.  'Even if we allow them to bring small quantities of goods, we have instructed them to distinguish whether they are for commercial purposes or not,' he said, 'A lot can be clarified from the behavior and speech of the person bringing the goods.'