KATMANDU, April 4 (UPI) -- A group of 34 Tibetans fleeing their Chinese-dominated homeland were arrested by border police as they tried to enter Nepal, reports said Thursday.

Police stopped the refugees Wednesday night following a tip-off from local residents who feared the group might be affiliated with Maoist guerrillas who have terrorized Nepal's countryside in recent weeks, the daily Lokpatra newspaper said.

The refugees were trying to cross through Nepal to reach Dharamsala, India, where Tibet's spiritual leader-in-exile, the Dalai Lama and hundreds of thousands of his followers reside.

Some of the fleeing refugees were deported back home to Tibet for illegal entry into Nepal or forwarded to the office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in the capital Katmandu, the report said.

Last week, police arrested another group of 15 Tibetans and turned them over to the UNHCR.