22 Nepal prisoners escape amid unrest, nabbed at U.P. border

At least 22 inmates who escaped from prisons in Nepal following the collapse of the government there were apprehended by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) along the Nepal-Uttar Pradesh border on Wednesday (September 10, 2025), a senior government official said.

The inmates were apprehended on the basis of lists of prisoners shared by the Armed Forces of Nepal with their counterparts, the SSB. The inmates are presently in the custody of the Uttar Pradesh Police, the official said. Thousands of prisoners are said to have escaped in Nepal following the massive protests by young people across that country against corruption and nepotism.

Nepal protests update on September 10, 2025

The escapees were “illegal foreigners” and they would be caught and jailed, another government official said.

The U.P. Police is likely to register a case under the Foreigners and Immigration Act, 2025 against the escapees, the official said. 

The SSB, a Central Armed Police Force, guards the 1,751 km border with Nepal, and 699 km India-Bhutan border.

The official explained that the movement of people from Nepal to India had substantially fallen due to the curfew imposed by the Army.

Nepal and India share an open border, and residents of the neighbouring country are allowed entry without visas and passports based on documents, including driving licenses, and government issued I-cards, among others.

“The Armed Forces of Nepal has shared the list of inmates who fled the prisons in Nepal, and we apprehended the suspects based on that information. We have deployed personnel at all checkpoints and all gaps are being secured,” the official said, adding that the number of such escapees could go up in the coming days.

The official said no additional deployment had been made but personnel had been moved closer to the border, and other possible points had been fortified along with the usual entry points.

A watch is being kept on the possible influx of people if the situation deteriorated in the neighbourhood, the official said.