Sunsari, Jan. 1 -- Tensions escalated in Koshi Rural Municipality, Sunsari, on Thursday after local Bijay Sah died when the Armed Police Force personnel opened fire.

Sah, 45, was killed on the spot in the early hours of Thursday during an operation to control smuggling, police said.

Deputy Inspector General Kumar Neupane of the Armed Police Force's Baraha Battalion in Pakali said the police clashed with people carrying smuggled goods from the border area on auto rickshaws.

"Sah died as a result of retaliatory action after the people involved in smuggling attacked the armed police team," Neupane said. "When our team tried to stop and seize goods being brought illegally from India, they attacked the police, prompting retaliatory firing. ...