About 1,000 foreign nationals, about 7,300 prisoners and detainees have returned.
About 7,300 prisoners and detainees have been arrested among those who escaped from various prisons/jails and police custody during the 'Zen-G' movement. Of the 14,043 escaped prisoners and detainees, 6,800 are still absconding. About 1,000 of the fugitives are foreign nationals.
The next day after the state repressed the movement of Jane-ji on 23rd of August, when the demonstration broke out, the prisoners and the detainees escaped by vandalizing and setting fire to the prison and police custody . On August 24, 28 prisons/juvenile correctional homes and more than 150 police custody were vandalized and set on fire.
According to Chomendra Neupane, director of the prison management department, about 6,900 prisoners have been arrested till Tuesday evening. DIG Vinod Ghimire, spokesperson of Nepal Police informed that 370 prisoners were arrested among those who escaped from the detention cell. According to the police officials, they will also be investigated on the charges of breaking the detention cell and creating havoc.
According to the department and the police, about 6,800 prisoners and detainees are still absconding. About 1,000 foreign prisoners are also among the fugitives. Citizens of China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries ran away on 24th of August, hiding the chance of vandalism and arson in the prison. Some prisoners who escaped after the arson and vandalism returned by themselves, while others are being arrested by the police.
Among the escaped prisoners, there are those who have been convicted and remanded for charges including drug, murder, robbery, rape, smuggling, corruption, fake Bhutanese refugee case, foreign currency smuggling. Ex-Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamazhi, former Secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, former Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa's security advisor Indrajit Rai, who were in the Central Jail during the trial in the case of fake Bhutanese refugees, escaped. Rayamazhi has returned to prison.
Chudamani Upreti, also known as Gore, who is serving the sentence in the gold smuggling case, has also returned to Dillibazar jail . Keshav Dulal and Sanu Bhandari, who are in the central jail during the preliminary investigation in the refugee case, were arrested by the police from the valley on Tuesday evening. Ravi Lamichhane, the President of RSVP, who is in Nakkhu prison for pre-trial detention in the co-operative fraud case, has also returned.
The police have concluded that there is a high security threat from the prisoners who escaped on August 24. During the outbreak of violence, more than 1200 weapons including INSAS, SLRs and pistols were looted from the police barracks/offices alone. About 100,000 rounds of ammunition of those weapons are also missing from the police records . The police have also pointed out that there is a risk of the emergence of armed groups in the country due to missing weapons and shootings and prisoners.
Due to the open border between Nepal and India, there is a risk that some prisoners may cross over. Keeping this in mind, security checks at international borders have been tightened. There is also a high possibility of prisoners and detainees escaping from prisons and police custody and fleeing abroad under different names. Paying attention to the security challenges that have arisen after the Gen-G rebellion in Nepal, countries including UAE, Qatar and Malaysia have started taking measures to take workers. UAE has suspended visit and working visas for now
