No Nepal arms on ship detained near Kolkata: Army

KATHMANDU - Nepal’s army Sunday rejected media reports that a ship detained by Indian authorities on way to Kolkata port contained arms and explosives belonging to Nepali soldiers, deployed on UN missions in Africa, saying its cargo comprised vehicles and their spare parts.

“The cargo belonging to Nepal Army carried on the ship (MV Aegean Glory) comprises three jeeps and a light truck,” Nepal Army spokesman Brigadier-General Ramindra Chhetri told IANS. “In addition, there’s a container carrying spare parts for the vehicles and generators.”

The army spokesman said Nepal’s defence ministry had informed the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu about the cargo.

The ship, he said, was scheduled to reach Kolkata port June 16. However, it was delayed as it halted at the Chittagong Port in Bangladesh where cargo belonging to soldiers from Bangladesh was unloaded.

MV Aegean Glory was stopped by Indian police in West Bengal Friday on the suspicion that it was carrying arms and explosives.

The cargo belonged to soldiers from three countries — Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan, who were deployed on UN peacekeeping missions in Liberia.

Some media reports in India had claimed that the ship carried tonnes of military hardware and explosives belonging to Nepal and Pakistan armies.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistani authorities on the nature of their cargo.

(Sudeshna Sarkar can be contacted at sudeshna.s@ians.in)