An American citizen, identified as Jordan Brown from California, was arrested by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) near the Sonauli India-Nepal border on July 11, in Maharajganj on Monday.
| Photo Credit: ANI
A 36-year-old United States citizen who was apprehended by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) while trying to cross over to Nepal near a border checkpost in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district on July 11 has given contradictory accounts of his stay in India, government officials told The Hindu.
No passport or identity document was found on him and police recovered two mobile phones that appeared to have been “intentionally damaged”, said a senior government official. The suspect has not yet got consular access.
The accused identified as Jordan Brown was trying to cross over to Nepal through a mud track around 35 metres inside India when he was spotted by an SSB patrol near Sunauli checkpost.
On seeing the SSB personnel, he attempted to escape from the spot but was apprehended with the help of locals, the official said.
Brown initially told security personnel that he had entered India on a tourist visa in November 2025 and had remained in the country after its expiry in January 2026, rendering his stay illegal.
He further admitted that he attempted to cross into Nepal through an unauthorised route to evade immigration authorities and acknowledged that his earlier claim of serving in the U.S. Navy was false.
“After being caught by SSB personnel, he claimed that he was formerly with the U.S. Navy. It turned out to be a false claim to mislead the investigators. He was extremely violent when he was caught and has since been giving evasive replies. We are not relying on his statements. We are doing an independent probe,” said a senior U.P Police official.
When the SSB apprehended him, they recovered the two damaged mobile phones and ₹31,460 from his possession.
Shakti Mohan Avasthy, Superintendent of Police, Maharajganj said that the accused was produced in court and has been sent to judicial custody.
Additional SP Siddharatha said the accused identified himself as Jordan Brown and said he is a resident of California, U.S.
“Other agencies are also interrogating him. He claimed he was on a tourist visa in Thailand and lost his passport. He said he somehow reached Sri Lanka through the sea route and claims that he entered India through the sea route on November 2, 2025. He said he has been living in Goa since then. No documents have been found on him,” the officer said.
The police officer added that the suspect has been booked under Section 21/23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 for entering India without any documents. The accused is yet to get consular access.
India and Nepal share 1,751 km open border that is guarded by the SSB. The movement of Indian and Nepalese citizens across the border is governed by the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1950, which provides for free movement of citizens of both the countries across the border but third-country nationals require visa and can only cross from designated immigration points.
Published – July 14, 2026 10:38 am IST
