A helicopter flew over the Darchula area at 10 am on 27th Jestha. According to locals and the administration, the helicopter belongs to the Indian Army. According to security sources in Darchula, the helicopter entered Nepali airspace without prior permission from the Nepal government. Darchula Assistant District Attorney Mohan Singh Dhami told Kantipur, "An Indian military helicopter was found to have flown over Nepali airspace without permission." Kalapani, including Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh, is Indian-occupied Nepali territory. In addition to the Indian Army, Indian paramilitary forces SSB and ITBP are stationed there. India has banned Nepalis from entering the area.

According to security sources, the helicopter was carrying Shatrujit Singh Kapoor, Director General of India's 'Indo-Tibetan Border Police' (ITBP). The military helicopter was found to have flown to Kalapani via the skies of Beas Rural Municipality-1, Chhangru in Darchula.

Assistant Chief District Officer of Darchula Dhami informed that the Indian side did not take any permission to fly the helicopter through Nepali skies.

According to security sources in Darchula, the 50th Battalion Chhangru of the Armed Police Force, which was located nearby, informed the 44th Battalion Headquarters of the Armed Forces in Khalanga, the headquarters of Darchula. After that, the Home Ministry was informed through the district administration and the level-level mechanism.

A young man told Kantipur that the locals came out and 'shoed' in protest after seeing an Indian helicopter over the settlement of Chhangru. He said, 'In the past, we used to go by the Mahakali River, we didn't care much when it came back and forth every day, but that day when it came right over the settlement, we shouted and protested.'

It is understood that ITBP Chief Kapoor went to inspect the barracks in Gunji in the Kalapani area, but it is not clear with what specific purpose he went. According to security sources, he had returned from the same helicopter after observing the Kailash and Om Parbat areas.

India has also unilaterally built a road to Mansarovar in China through the Kalapani area. The last time India and China agreed to promote trade and travel through this route, Nepal has already protested to both of them through a diplomatic note. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had reiterated its stance by sending a diplomatic note in the third week of last Baisakh.

On Friday, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Pavitra Margherita had bid farewell to the first group of pilgrims going to Kailash Mansarovar. The first group is preparing to travel via the Nathula route. The team will be undertaking the pilgrimage from Monday.

Regarding the entry of the helicopter into the Darchula area, the District Administration Office, Darchula, has stated that it will seek an answer from the Indian administration. It said that work is being done to draw attention to the matter and seek an answer from the local administration of India, which entered Nepal without permission.

A helicopter from one country entering the airspace of another country without permission is considered an 'airspace violation'. 'ITBP Director General Kapoor entered Nepal while inspecting the Gunji unit in the Kalapani area and the administration has received information about this from the security mechanism, and we have also informed the Home Ministry about it,' Dhami said. 

He said that although 'geographical remoteness and adverse weather conditions can sometimes cause problems in flights', the weather in the area was found to be normal on the day the Indian security chief flew. He also said that they should have been informed about this before the flight, but the Indian side did not inform them about it either. 

Why did the helicopter enter Nepali airspace without permission from the Indian District Magistrate's office in Pithoragarh? Assistant District Attorney Dhami said that the process has been initiated for that. 

Former Nepali Army Lieutenant General Sharad Giri has said that it is a serious issue for a foreign military helicopter to cross Nepal's airspace and enter another country. 

'Whether it entered intentionally or due to technical reasons, the government should ask for an answer. No matter how it entered, it cannot be taken for granted. Even if it entered Nepal due to technical reasons, the relevant country's mechanism should have been informed immediately, but that did not seem to have happened.  This should be considered an airspace violation,' said former Lieutenant General Giri.

This is not the first flight of an Indian helicopter in the area. Five years ago, after Kantipur exposed the issue of Indian helicopters continuously flying

from the skies of Pithoragarh

towards Kalapani via Khalanga, the headquarters of Darchula, without permission, the Nepal government drew India's attention through a diplomatic note. 

In the third week of Bhadra 2078, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had urged the Indian government not to use Nepal's airspace without permission through diplomatic channels.  After Indian helicopters started flying continuously over the Guru Gorakh Gulma Headquarters of the Nepali Army in Khalanga, the administration called a meeting of the District Security Committee and expressed its objection to the Indian move.  The district administration had sent a letter to the Indian administration and also informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Ministry of Home Affairs. After that, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its objection through a diplomatic note. 

According to Nepal's political and administrative map, the Indian Army, ITBP and SSB troops have been stationed in the territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, which are included in Beas Rural Municipality-1 of Darchula, for years. Both countries have been claiming the Kalapani region as their own. Amidst this claim, Nepal had opposed India's map that included Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura in Kartik 2076. Despite expressing its opposition through a diplomatic note, Nepal also made the political and administrative map of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura public through a cabinet meeting after the release of the map and the one-way road connecting China. The House of Representatives meeting on Jestha 11, 2077 passed the Constitution Amendment Bill to incorporate the new map. After that, the Armed Police Force deployed troops for the first time in Changru near Kalapani to secure the Nepal-India and Nepal-China borders under the leadership of an inspector. In Changru, near the Kalapani area, the Armed Police Force is currently deploying Border Out Post (BOP) under the leadership of a DSP and an inspector under the leadership of a Tinkar for border security. The border security towards Nepal is being done through the same mechanism. Other related news After India's response, the government reiterated: Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura are Nepali land