Gujarat Man Who Fled Nepalese Prison During Gen Z Protest Held In Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: A resident of Ahmedabad, who escaped from a Nepalese prison during the 'Gen Z' protests while facing drug charges, was arrested by Gujarat Police, officials said. The Special Operations Group (SOG) of the crime branch tracked down the accused, identified as Dharmesh Chunara (32), following a coordinated effort involving technical surveillance and human intelligence.

A resident of Thakkarbapa Nagar Road, Chunara had been on the run since fleeing the Bhadra Jail in Kathmandu during a violent prison break triggered by civil unrest last year. Authorities are currently coordinating with the Ministry of External Affairs and Nepal authorities regarding further legal proceedings and a possible extradition of the accused.

Chunara, who landed in Nepal from Bangkok via the Bangkok-Nepal Flight No. TG-319 in July 2025, was nabbed with 13 kilograms of hybrid ganja valued at approximately Rs 13 crore and sent to the Bhadra jail after legal action by Nepal authorities, police said. He and other prisoners, some of them Indians, escaped when protesters stormed the Bhadra jail.

Police said the Nepalese government released a list of prisoners who escaped, based on which the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Delhi, circulated their details to all states, including the CID crime unit in Gujarat's Gandhinagar. Chunara entered India via the India-Nepal Sonauli border, after which he came to Ahmedabad.

"After fleeing from Nepal, Chunanra first went to Lucknow and then flew to Ahmedabad. The crime branch received information that he was hiding at his mother-in-law's house in the Kagdapith area of ​​Ahmedabad, and made the arrest. It is learnt that his mother-in-law is a listed bootlegger, operating an illegal liquor business in Kagdapith. During questioning, she claimed that Chunara was drawn to the liquor trade due to mounting debts," said an official.

He has been taken into custody for further legal proceedings, and is currently being interrogated on his contacts, the extent of the drug supply network and how he escaped from the Nepalese prison. The process of handing him over to a central agency will be initiated soon, police said.

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