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🇳🇵 Nepal /Crime & Justice

Paddy season is slipping away, but two Nepali farmer brothers are stuck in India jail

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Two Nepalese farmers remain imprisoned in India after being arrested for purchasing chemical fertilizer near the border, highlighting Nepal's severe fertilizer shortages.
  • The brothers were detained on July 1 while returning with urea and DAP, and their fields are now uncultivated as the monsoon planting season progresses.
  • Family members are experiencing financial and emotional distress, while local Nepalese officials coordinate with Indian authorities for their release.

The monsoon planting season is advancing in Nepal, but two farmers from Sarlahi district are unable to cultivate their land as they remain imprisoned in India. Suresh Prasad Singh, 55, and his elder brother Nagendra Prasad Singh, 60, were arrested on July 1 near Sonbarsa in Bihar, India, by a joint team of India's Agriculture Department and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

The court sought documents related to the case from Sonbarsa police, but the bail hearing has yet to be completed. We have been told that the judge was on leave. We hope they will be released after a hearing this week, but the delay has caused enormous anxiety for the family.

— Prabin SinghNagendra's son-in-law, describing the family's anxiety over the slow legal process in India.

Their family members report that the brothers had purchased two sacks of urea and six sacks of diammonium phosphate (DAP). They insist the fertilizer was solely for their own farm and reject any allegations of smuggling. However, they are now detained in a jail in Dumra, Sitamarhi district, with their roughly 1.69 hectares of land left uncultivated.

Our neighbours have already finished planting paddy, but our land is still lying fallow. We are waiting for them to come home so that we can begin cultivation.

— Aditya SinghSuresh's son, expressing the impact of his father and uncle's detention on their farm's cultivation.

Family members are facing significant anxiety due to slow legal proceedings. Prabin Singh, Nagendra's son-in-law, stated that while court documents have been requested from Sonbarsa police, the bail hearing has been repeatedly delayed, with a judge reportedly on leave. "We hope they will be released after a hearing this week, but the delay has caused enormous anxiety for the family," he said.

We are continuing coordination for their release and are awaiting the latest update.

— Hom Prasad GhimireAssistant chief district officer of Sarlahi, on the efforts to secure the farmers' release.

Local officials in Nepal are coordinating with Indian authorities regarding the case. Hom Prasad Ghimire, assistant chief district officer of Sarlahi, confirmed ongoing coordination for their release. Chief District Officer Bijay Raj Subedi added that the Home Ministry has been informed and that local authorities are communicating with the SSB. "We have ensured that the family members have been able to meet them and that they are receiving the treatment and access they are entitled to during the legal process," Subedi said.

We have ensured that the family members have been able to meet them and that they are receiving the treatment and access they are entitled to during the legal process. Further initiatives are being handled at higher levels.

— Bijay Raj SubediChief District Officer, assuring that the detained farmers are receiving due process and that the case is being escalated.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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