Patna, Sep 4 (IANS) Around 400 Indian labourers, mostly from Bihar, working in a Nepal factory have returned after being allegedly assaulted by Nepalese labourers and suspected Maoists there.

The Indians, working in Nepal's Triveni Spinning factory, arrived in their villages in Bihar after being attacked over a dispute on duty allocation Saturday night.

The labourers, after reaching Raxaul on the border with Nepal, told Indian officials that they were forced to leave.

They alleged that they were targeted by Nepalese labourers and backed by people from nearby villages in the dispute. Kamlesh Yadav, one of the labourers, said a heated exchange took place between the Indians and the Nepalese. This was followed by a scuffle and they were beaten.

"We were beaten, threatened and warned not to work in the Nepal factory and told to leave Nepal immediately if we wanted to save our lives," Subodh Prasad, another labourer, said.

According to him, some of the Nepalese who attacked them said they were Maoists.

Jeevan Kumar Singh, district magistrate of Motihari, confirmed that many Indian labourers working in Nepal had fled and arrived in Raxaul. "We have consulted the concerned officials in Nepal and put the issue before them for immediate settlement," he said.

According to official sources, about 1,600 Indians work in the Triveni spinning factory situated near Birganj, in Nepal's Bara district near the Indo-Nepal border.