Kathamndu May 5.

Police opened two rounds of blank fire at the southern border area in Jhapa district on Monday to drive away unruly Indian nationals who were trying to crowd in defiance of the lockdown. The incident took place at around 4.30 pm at a border village in Jhapa rural municipality-4. More than 150 Indians carrying home-made weapons crowded at the temporary Nepali border security post, forcing the security personnel to fire in the air to disperse the crowd, rural municipality chairman Jaya Kumar Saha said. According to him, the Nepali security persons stopped two Indian nationals who tried to enter Nepal and returned them after convincing them earlier in the day. After some time, scores of Indians carrying home-made weapons tried to enter Nepal. They dispersed after the blank firing by the security personnel. Chief District Officer, Udaya Bahadur Rana, said the police had to fire in the air to stop unruly crowd from crossing the border into Nepal when the movement of people has been completely prohibited at the border to stem the spread of COVID-19. Security reinforcements have been sent to the area after the incident.