Vijay Sah, 45, of Puri Tole, Koshi Rural Municipality-1, Sunsari, had only one source of livelihood: a city rickshaw. He used to support his family of six by driving the same rickshaw.

He was shot dead by the armed police deployed for border security on Wednesday midnight. His death has not only added to the grief of the family, but has also taken away the only basis for running the house.

Puri Toll is a settlement connected to the Indian small customs office Laukahi. A few hundred meters away, India's Belah Bazaar is located. Many people in this settlement have chosen to become 'porters' in the name of employment. They carry other people's goods from across the border. They make a living on the wages they receive.

According to locals, the 'line' opens from this checkpoint after 11 pm. Then the porters reach Belah Bazaar in India. They bring sugar, chocolate, and groceries. They deliver them to the traders before dawn. This work keeps the stove burning in the homes of many workers in Puri Toll. Vijay was also a worker of this category. 'Vijay was a hard worker, he was not a businessman, he was just a porter,' says Shobhit Narayan Yadav, ward chairman of Koshi Rural Municipality-1. 'He used to carry other people's goods to support his family. He had to be killed unnecessarily.’

After eating at around 11 pm on Wednesday night, Vijay was heading towards Belah Bazaar in a city rickshaw. He brought his belongings and handed them over on the first trip. Then he headed towards Belah for the second time. The family claims that the armed police on duty stopped him on his way back. ‘He called around 12 pm,’ his wife Geeta recalled tearfully, ‘the police could be heard demanding money. It was clear that they were demanding 500. They were asking to put the car on its side.’

Suddenly, a ‘dang’ sound came on the phone. ‘It was the sound of gunfire,’ says Geeta, ‘after that, his voice was not heard.’ The incident was only about 300 meters away from Vijay’s house. After the call was disconnected, Geeta went out with the villagers to search for Vijay. Vijay was next to the rickshaw with a bullet in his chest. When they reached, Vijay was dead. That moment shocked not only Geeta, but the entire settlement.

The city rickshaw with number 1-02-003 3317 had 7 bags of sugar, 2 cartons of chocolate and other goods. It is not clear whose goods Vijay was carrying. Sunsari Chief District Officer Vasudev Ghimire says, ‘Superficially, it seems that Vijay was just a porter. An investigation is underway to find out whose goods it was.’

But the locals have a different question, what was the crime that even if he was a porter, he deserved to die? According to locals, a smuggling ‘line’ opens from this checkpoint between 11 pm and 1 am. During that period, porters transport goods of traders around Itahari and Inaruwa. ‘500 rupees must be paid to the police on duty for each round,’ says a local. ‘If there is a reluctance to pay the money, there will be a dispute. Earlier, there was beating, this time there was shooting.’

As news of Vijay’s death spread, Laukahi Bazaar became tense since Thursday morning. Angry locals blocked the East-West Highway by placing the body on the road. The Armed Police Force's BIT and BOP were vandalized and set on fire. The police fired tear gas to control the situation.

While Sah was returning from India with his belongings, locals claim that he had a confrontation with the Armed Police Force at around 1:15 pm on Wednesday night in Puri Tole on the inner road section of Koshi Rural Municipality-1 and a transaction dispute arose. Local Raghunandan Yadav claims that the bullet fired by the armed police hit Sah in the chest when the dispute escalated after he demanded more money than he had been giving earlier.

An all-party meeting was held at the District Administration Office Inaruwa to defuse the tension. And, the meeting reached a five-point agreement. As per the agreement, a 7-member investigation committee has been formed under the coordination of Assistant Chief District Officer Ghanashyam Neupane. The committee has representatives from Nepal Police and National Investigation Agency. The committee has been given seven days to submit its report. Based on the agreement, the body has been handed over for post-mortem and cremated by the family.

DIG Kumar Neupane, Chief of Armed Police Force No. 1 Barah Bahini, claimed that an unknown group involved in smuggling opened fire first. ‘We had stopped two autos and a city rickshaw,’ says DIG Neupane, ‘they got out of the auto and opened fire. Vijay died when he was forced to retaliate.’ However, no bullet casings belonging to the smugglers were found at the scene. The administration has confirmed that the two casings found were from bullets fired by the Armed Police Force. This contradiction has raised questions about the Armed Police Force’s claim.

A meeting held at the District Administration Office between the deceased’s family, local people’s representatives and security officials agreed to provide the deceased’s family with one lakh rupees for immediate expenses and form a committee to investigate the incident.

Even after the agreement, the locals have demanded an investigation into the role of the Armed Police Force. The administration has committed to investigating the role of the Armed Police Force as per the demand of the locals. It has also been agreed to provide compensation if negligence is found, facilitate employment for the deceased’s wife and support if his son wants to join the Armed Police Force. According to Chief District Officer Ghimire, this incident has highlighted the need for a purge of the Armed Police Force deployed in the border area. He informed that a serious investigation will be conducted after it was found that the police shot him in the chest contrary to the principle of using force.