American man detained illegal entry at India-Nepal border

A 36-year-old American man has been detained by Indian authorities after being apprehended while attempting to cross into Nepal without valid travel documents. Jordan Brown, who claims to be from California, was arrested by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) border force on Saturday, July 11, near the Sonauli border crossing in Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj district.

According to a senior police official, Brown was intercepted away from the designated immigration route and allegedly ignored instructions to stop before being taken into custody. He was not carrying a passport, visa, or any other identity documents at the time of his arrest. Multiple central intelligence and security agencies are now questioning him to verify his identity, travel history, and motives.

During interrogation, Brown has provided inconsistent accounts of his journey. One version given to officials states that he traveled to Thailand on a tourist visa, lost his passport there, and then reached Sri Lanka by sea before arriving in India via another sea route on November 2, 2025. He claimed to have been living in Goa since that time. In another account, he said he arrived in Goa from the United States only about...