Suspected Pakistani woman who escaped Nepal jail arrested in Tripura border town

65-year-old fugitive caught while allegedly trying to cross over to Bangladesh

October 13, 2025

Suspected Pakistani woman who escaped from Nepal jail arrested in Tripura

Police probing woman’s Pakistani connections and purpose of visit to India

A 65-year-old woman suspected to be a Pakistani national and a fugitive from a Nepal prison has been arrested in Tripura’s border town of Sabroom, officials said on Saturday.

According to Sabroom police officer Nityananda Sarkar, the woman — who identified herself as Louis Nighat Akhtar Bhano — was detained by the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Sabroom railway station and later handed over to the local police station for questioning.

“It is suspected that she came here intending to cross over to Bangladesh. Police and other security agencies are interrogating her to gather more information about her movements and intentions,” Sarkar said.

Preliminary questioning revealed that Bhano had escaped from a Nepalese jail and may have Pakistani links, though her nationality has not yet been officially confirmed.

Police sources said Bhano is reportedly the wife of Md Golaf Faraj, a resident of Sheikhupura in Pakistan. She allegedly entered Nepal around 12 years ago using a Pakistani passport and became involved in drug trafficking.

In 2014, Nepalese authorities arrested her for possession of 1 kg of brown sugar. She was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison, serving time at the Kathmandu Central Jail until her recent escape.

Her jailbreak reportedly took place last month during a wave of violent anti-government protests in Nepal that triggered mass prison breaks, freeing over 13,000 inmates nationwide. Several escapees were later captured while trying to enter India through border states.

Police said Bhano will be produced before a local court soon, with investigators likely to seek her custody for further interrogation.

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