India deports Nepalese 'Maoists'

The Maoist rebellion has continued for six years

The Indian authorities are to deport four Nepalese nationals on suspicion of supporting the Maoist insurgency in Nepal.

The four were picked up in Delhi on Thursday after attending a meeting of the India-Nepal People's Solidarity Organisation.

The four were then taken by the police to the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, which borders Nepal.

Nepal, which has faced a Maoist revolt for the past six years, recently appealed to India for help in fighting the rebels.

Banned group

A senior police official told the BBC that the four would be handed over to the Nepalese authorities on the border.

King Gyanendra: Promised support by India

The four Nepalese were named as Partha Chatri, Maheswar Dahal, Moti Prasad and Aditi.

Police said one of them was a member of a group banned under India's tough new anti-terrorism law, the Akhil Bharatiya Nepali Ekta Samaj (All India Nepalese Unity Society).

Indian human rights activists Gautam Navlakha, who attended the Delhi meeting, told the French news agency that he and 20 of his colleagues were also arrested by police, but later released after questioning.

"We were bundled up in vans and taken to a police station. We were made to sit on the floor and one by one questioned by the policemen," he said.

He said the meeting they held was to discuss the peace process in Nepal.

He condemned the decision to deport the Nepalese, saying the action was uncalled for.

He said the four men were all journalists with a Nepalese newspaper.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee pledged last month during a visit to India by King Gyandenda to help Nepal in its struggle against the Maoist rebels.