Kathmandu, June 30: Home Minister of Nagaland Imkong Inchen was detained for a few hours by Nepalese police, an embarrassment for India, for carrying Indian currency notes with denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 which are banned here.
 Inchen, on a private visit here with his family was found carrying Rs 900,000 in cash with him, with most of the notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination, which are banned in Nepal, police said.
 Possession of high denomination currency notes is a penal offence in Nepal and the offenders can face jail terms up to five years or hefty fines.
 The minister told the police that he was not aware of the ban.
 He was detained as he did not produce his identity.
 The police detained him for a few hours for carrying the currency notes banned in the country as he was about to board a Jet Airlines flight to Delhi, Nepal Police spokesman Bigyan Raj Sharma said.
 The police did not press charges against him.
 Inchen was detained for questioning when he arrived at the airport at 0900 hours to catch a flight to Delhi after attending a marriage function in Kathmandu, Indian embassy sources said.
 The sources said it was normal procedure to question people carrying big denomination notes as these are banned in Nepal. It was only after his questioning that he revealed his identity.
 He was supposed to fly back to India at 9 am but he had to stay at the airport for a few hours as the police had conducted investigation.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 1 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST