The Indian border security force, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), has been harassing the students and teachers of Bal Jagriti Primary School at Punarbas Municipality-7 in Kanchanpur district for the past two years.

The school’s headmaster, Dan Bahadur BK, said the SSB was against the idea of building the school from the beginning.

“They (SSB) arrested me three times when we were building this school. They wanted us to halt the construction,” BK said, adding that the school building was completed with Nepali security personnel guarding the place. The school is situated roughly one kilometre from the Nepal-India border. However, BK said, the SSB personnel have been crossing the border and harassing the Nepali citizens.

“They still visit the school unannounced and threaten us. The children are terrified because they come inside toting their rifles,” BK said.   

Harka Bahadur Sundar, chairman of the school management committee, said the SSB has even restricted the villagers from visiting the border towns of India.

A few months earlier, the SSB and the people from the Indian Forest Office had entered 500 metres inside Nepali territory and planted tree saplings. Kamal Chitrakar, the forest ranger at Tribhuvanbasti Area Forest Office, said the tree saplings were later removed by the locals.  

“The local administration is doing nothing about the Indian invasion and harassment. They come here and threaten us every now and then. We don’t feel safe at all,” Sunar said.