India Closes Mahakali River Bridge on Nepal Border Over Murder Case

The Indian side has closed the Mahakali River bridge, which lies along the Nepal–India border. Because of this, movement between Nepal’s Darchula district headquarters and India’s Dharchula town has been stopped.

According to Anil Paudel, Chief District Officer of Darchula, the bridge was closed to pressure authorities into arresting those involved in a murder case in Dharchula, India. There are unconfirmed reports that two people involved in the murder may have fled to Nepal.

“We are also searching for the suspects on the Nepal side, but they haven’t been found yet,” said Paudel. “Indian officials told us that locals closed the bridge to pressure their own government to arrest those responsible.”

Paudel added that it was not the Indian government, but local Indian citizens who blocked the bridge to put pressure on their authorities.

He also said talks are ongoing with the District Magistrate (DM) of Dharchula, India, to reopen the route.

The protest started at 11 a.m. today. Since then, the bridge over the Mahakali River has remained closed. Although it opened briefly during the day, it was closed again.

The murder occurred on June 7, when a man named Kamlesh Danu from Dharchula, India, was stabbed to death.

In response, a group led by Guman Singh Bista, head of the Anuwal community, submitted a memorandum to Manjit Singh, the Deputy District Officer of Pithoragarh. They demanded the arrest of the suspects and announced a shutdown of Dharchula and the closure of the Nepal–India border bridge.