Tibetans who were held at the bordering city of Raxaul in India for the past one week were allowed to leave for Kathmandu on Saturday.

Out of 209 Tibetans on their way to Nepal from Bodhgaya in India, 175 were denied entry after they failed to produce required documents at the immigration office. They, however, showed identity cards issued by Jarong Thubten Mindrol Donga Chholing Buddhist Monastery in Sitapaila, Kathmandu today, after which immigration officials freed them. They also produced facsimile copies of documents issued by District Administration Office, Solukhumbu, which identified them as Tibetan refugees.

“We let them go after warning that their movement without papers could lead to their arrest,” said an immigration official.

Published on: 12 February 2012 | The Himalayan Times