By IANS,
New Delhi/Kathmandu: Nagaland Home Minister Imkong L. Imchen, who was detained In Kathmandu Wednesday for flouting a currency ban, said it was his first visit to the Himalayan kingdom and he was unaware of the rule.
“The fact is that it was my first visit to Kathmandu. It was a private visit for my friend’s son’s (marriage) reception. I was with family so I thought I should carry money,” Imchen told reporters here after his return later this evening.
Imchen was detained at the Tribhuvan International Airport while trying to catch a Jet Airways flight to New Delhi.
Imchen, who won the 2008 election as a member of the Nagaland People’s Front from Koridang, was held after a security check revealed that he was carrying Rs.9 lakh in 500 and 1,000 rupee notes. The Indian minister had made an incognito visit to Nepal with his wife and two sons June 27.
The minister, however, denied he was carrying Rs.9 lakh.
“I was carrying around Rs.200,000 of Indian currency (on my return to Delhi). About Rs.100,000 was in Rs.500 denomination and Rs.100,000 in Rs.1,000 denomination,” he said adding that the police had seized the money.
“I will have to fulfil the formalities. They have not exactly charged me,” he added.
When asked whether he knew about the rule, he said: “I was not aware of the restrictions there. Of course, I am sorry.”
The crime is punishable with a fine and imprisonment.
Over a decade ago, the Reserve Bank of India banned the transaction of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 denomination currency notes outside India in a bid to crack down on the mushrooming counterfeit Indian currency racket with major hubs in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Carrying the banned notes in Nepal is a punishable offence that can merit up to five years in prison or a fine or both.
While Imchen’s wife Alila and sons Sungtikumba and Daochier were allowed to catch the 9.30 a.m. flight to New Delhi, the minister was detained for questioning and was later allowed to fly to India.
The Indian embassy said they were looking into the matter.
In November, two women from another northeastern Indian state, Mizoram, landed in trouble at a domestic airport in Nepal after they were found to be carrying the banned Indian currency.
Lalring Heti, 41, and Lal Moonbami, 37, were arrested in Bhadrapur in eastern Nepal while trying to catch a flight to Kathmandu after they were found to be carrying Rs.195,000 in 500 and 1,000 rupee notes.
Despite the ban, Indian tourists continue to be ignorant of it, leading to many cases of detentions at Nepal airports.