Nepali king meets Indian envoy

India has sharply criticised Gyanendra's seizure of power on February 1 and suspended military aid to Nepal which is seeking to crush an increasingly deadly Maoist revolt.

Britain has also suspended arms sales while the United States has threatened to follow suit.

The envoy's audience at the royal palace with Gyanendra followed Indian media reports of feelers being sent by Nepal for a meeting between the king and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the Asian-African Summit to be held in Jakarta from April 20-24.

"Indian Ambassador Shiv Shankar Mukherjee and the king discussed the current political situation in Nepal" during the meeting that lasted nearly 90 minutes, an Indian embassy spokesman said, without elaborating.

India has been pushing for restoration of democracy and the release of political prisoners taken into custody after Gyanendra's assumption of absolute power.

A source close to the pro-royal party backing the king said Gyanendra's meeting with the envoy could result in the release of 240 leaders, human rights activists, scholars and others still in detention since the royal takeover.

Meanwhile, Maoists attacked a village in southwestern Nepal killing 10 civilians and wounding seven others, an army spokesman said yesterday.

"The rebels are reported to have taken the action against the villagers accusing them of being members of an anti-Maoist vigilante team," Colonel Jit Bahadur Gurung said.