NEW DELHI: Take this. Two agencies accountable to the same ministry are working at cross purposes. While a wing of the Home Ministry, the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) guarding the Indo-Nepal border, was busy in purging out and nabbing Maoist rebels who tried to surreptitiously enter this side, another wing of the same ministry arranges a meeting between top Nepalese Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai and CPM general secretary Prakash Karat. "This is a case of proverbial left hand not knowing what the right hand does in the government," termed a security expert. In an exclusive front page report on Wednesday, The Times of India gave details about the meeting between Karat and Bhattarai and how the Indian intelligence agencies had quietly chaperoned him in New Delhi. A section in the government is keen to use Left's influence over the Maoists for restoring democracy, while another section doubts the Maoists' commitment to democracy as it feels they could be even more dangerous for India due to their ideological proximity to Left-wing extremists like Naxalites and other insurgent groups. In the past three months alone, the SSB has nabbed as many as 18 Maoist rebels of Nepal who had tried to stealthily enter India and take shelter here. "When the Royal Nepal Army mounts pressure on them, the Maoists cross over to the Indian side and take shelter with their numerous relatives living here," said an SSB official. On Tuesday also, SSB nabbed Tekkai Passi, a company commander of the Maoists in Kapilvastu. Based on intelligence reports, SSB sleuths tracked down the Maoist rebel who was hiding in his sister's house in Sidharth Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh. His sister is married to an Indian. There are many such cases and this helps Maoists find shelter with relatives on this side. During his interrogation, Passi disclosed that before entering India, he had hidden his arms and ammunition in Nepal. Meanwhile, the BJP on Wednesday called the intelligence agency-arranged meeting between Bhattarai and Karat as a serious matter. Party spokesman Prakash Jhavrekar said the government owed an explanation as to how the intelligence agencies could do this in view of the "historic ties" India has with Nepal. The matter, he said, assumes greater importance since India is providing arms to the Nepalese government to deal with the Maoists. Yet the government facilitates such meetings in contravention of its own policy. He also demanded an explanation from Karat on what transpired between him and the Maoist leader.