Three Tibetan couples along with three children were arrested Thursday at Dolalghat for illegal entry as they were transiting to India to meet the Dalai Lama, their exiled spiritual leader, police said.

The Tibetans were immediately sent to Kathmandu where the Immigration Department is processing their requests to travel onward to India, police said. As a policy, Nepal sends them to India with the co-operation of the UNHCR.

Several hundred Tibetans transit to India through Nepal every year. Many never return home.