Give us two, get three, or vice versa.

This trick seems to be ruling supreme between India and Nepal. The two neighbours with sprawling porous border exchange dreaded criminals and terrorists on this golden trade practice.

Recently, the Himalayan country handed over the most wanted Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Yasin Bhatkal to Bihar. In return, the Nepalese police got three-four dreaded gangsters, who were hiding in the bordering districts of Bihar.

The police made over dreaded don Rajan Mukti to their Nepal counterparts last month. Mukti was wanted for the killing of several people, including some politicians in Nepal. He had taken shelter in East Champaran district, close to the Nepal border for long.

Sunil Jaiswal, who was evading arrest in connection with a dozen cases of extortion and murder, including four Maoist leaders in Nepal, was picked up from the Nepal border in East Champaran district and handed over to the Nepalese police.

A quid pro quo is reportedly functioning between the police in Bihar and Nepal for the past over one year. The cooperation is going in an informal way as there is no extradition treaty to deport the outlaws hiding under their jurisdiction.

The informal agreement has already started paying dividends. A dreaded gangster of north Bihar, Fauzi Singh, was arrested in Kathmandu and subsequently handed over to the Bihar police. Fauzi had virtually unleashed a reign of terror in East and West Champaran, Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi districts.

Before Fauzi’s arrest, another don, Bablu Dubey alias Mithilesh Dubey, was apprehended in Nepal’s Birganj. Dubey was wanted in over 36 cases of murder, kidnapping, extortion and bank robbery. He was hiding in Nepal for long and used to call the shots from there.

East Champaran superintendent of police Vinay Kumar said the residents of the four neighbouring districts, particularly the businessmen and the private contractors have heaved a sigh of relief after the arrest of the two dreaded criminals, who were operating from Nepal.

Kumar played an important role in the arrest of Bhatkal and his associate Asadullah Akhtar from the Nepal border in August.