The government of India might have been able to checkmate Pakistan on the issue on Jammu and Kashmir and have been able to push it to wall on terrorism but diplomatically it miserably failed to get relief to an Indian lad languishing in jail in erstwhile Hindu nation Nepal.
Rahul Pandey, a 24-year-old Delhi boy, has become victim of Facebook friendship trap and is in jail for over a month. He befriended with some Nepalese, who even visited India twice, stayed at his home in Delhi and lured him and his mom Neelam Pandey to Nepal for doing business but on reaching there they were asked Rs 65 lakh as ransom and on failing to get the money they were fabricated in false cheating case.
Lawyer contesting his case Ajay Kumar informed that there is no provision of bail for Indians in Nepal. Being apprehensive of the fact that Indians will cross border, the courts don’t give bails to Indians. To deal with this problem, other nations use their diplomatic clout but in case of India, the embassy remains mute spectator, despite clear instructions from New Delhi. “I am shocked to learn this. How can the basis of punishment be nationality and not the crime, it is against principle of natural justice,” said Ajay Kumar, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, who is camping in Kathmandu, to get Rahul released.
Ajay said that Indian officials posted here at Kathmandu have not taken up this issue so far at the higher level. The problem for Indian nationals is becoming torturous because of this non-bailable clause in law and pathetic attitude of Indian embassy. Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Manjeet Singh Puri, was not available for comment despite repeated attempts. Visiting Nepal for business or tourism is not at all safe, said one senior official at the Embassy, on the condition of anonymity. He further said that embassy is contemplating at issuing an unsafe Nepal, advisory urging Indians not to visit Nepal. Today, more than a dozen of Indians are languishing in different jails of Nepal in various crimes.
