The students named above were reportedly arrested by police on 17 June in Kathmandu. Their whereabouts are unknown and there are fears for their safety.

According to reports, police officers had previously visited Bipin Bhandari's residence on two occasions to search for him and threatened his family with death, unless they handed him over. The family reported the incidents to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on 30 April. On 7 May, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) allegedly visited the house and threatened the family to make Bipin Bhandari surrender to the police or face serious consequences. The DSP also reportedly issued threats suggesting that Bipin Bhandari might be killed after arrest.

Bipin Bhandari and all the students named above are alleged by the authorities to be members of the All Nepal National Independent Students' Union (Revolutionary). This organization was declared a restricted organization after the authorities imposed a nationwide emergency, because it is believed to have links with the armed opposition Communist Party of Nepal (CPN)(Maoist).

Relatives of the students made inquiries with the police at Hanuman Dhoka district police office who denied any knowledge of the arrest of the students. They have also informed the NHRC.

Bipin Bhandari, Dil Bahadur Rai and another student, Navin Rai, are reportedly being detained incommunicado at the premises of the Para Battalion of the Nepal Army in Maharajgunj, Kathmandu. They are said to be in poor health and Dil Bahadur Rai is allegedly being denied access to medical treatment, which he requires urgently.

Bipin Bhandari, Dil Bahadur Rai and Ramhari Rupakheti were arrested by police on 17 June 2002 in Kathmandu. A fourth student, Kavi Gautam, also arrested on 17 June along with Bipin Bhandari and Dil Bahadur Rai, was detained for about two months at Balaju Ward Police Office in Kathmandu. He was released on bail on 3 January 2003.

Navin Rai and two others, Purna Poudel and Ishwar Lama, were arrested on 26 April 2002 in Kalimati, Kathmandu. The whereabouts of Purna Poudel and Ishwar Lama are unknown, and there are fears they may have "disappeared". There is no new information about the whereabouts and health of Ramhari Rupakheti. Amnesty International is concerned for their safety.

Two women, Shusila Thapa and Nita Gautam, who were arrested in June 2002, were detained for at least nine months. They were held for some of the time at Hanuman Dhoka district police office and at Central Jail in Kathmandu, before being released on 26 March 2003.

On 19 June 2002 the relatives of Bipin Bhandari and Dil Bahadur Rai lodged a habeas corpus petition on their behalf in the Supreme Court. At the most recent hearing of the petition on 21 April 2003, the Supreme Court requested the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which it had earlier asked to investigate the report that the students had been detained, to present its findings.

The authorities have repeatedly denied that the students were arrested. On 30 September 2002 Amnesty International received a letter from the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in Geneva, denying that Bipin Bhandari and the other students had been arrested by police.

The students were alleged by the authorities to be members of the All Nepal National Independent Students' Union (Revolutionary). This organization was declared a "restricted" organization after the authorities imposed a nationwide state of emergency in November 2001, because it was believed to have links with the armed opposition Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) (Maoist).