Indian Special Security Bureau (SSB) troops vandalized dozens of homes of Nepalese citizens in the bordering area of Basantapur and Narsingh VDC in Sunsari district, according to a report published in Nepal Samacharpatra, a vernacular daily, on Monday.

The report mentions that the SSB forces manhandled those who tried to retaliate.

The report quoting a local resident says that the SSB forces entered into Nepalese side of the border at 12 pm Sunday, giving orders to move to another place. They vandalized the houses and beat up villagers. The incident took place at Ward No. 5, 7 and 8 of Basantaur VDC and Ward No. 8 of Narsingh VDC. There area falls 100 meters inside the Nepalese territory.

Homes belonging to Abdul Jabbar, Ufar Miya, Isral Miya, Sabir Ansari, Habibur Rahman, Bali Mahamad Miya, Bechu Paswan, Khusilal Paswan, Anrit Narayan Jha and Upendra Jha have completely been destroyed, report said.

Those who tried to retaliate were beaten up by the SSB jawans. Locals informed that they were ordered to shift their homes one kilometer away from the border. They had also forced the villagers to clean up the Dus Gaja (No man’s land) area.

Following the incident, local settlers have taken the case to the district administration, submitting a memorandum to Chief District Officer Padma Raj Regmi. The victims have asked for compensation.