KATHMANDU, May 2 (AFP) - Ten Tibetans bidding to visit their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in neighbouring India have been arrested for illegally entering Nepal, the state-run news agency RSS said Friday.

The Tibetans including seven men, two women and a 18-month-old girl were arrested last week at Dharapari police post in Humla district, 415 kilometres (260 miles) northwest of here, it said.

Tibetans travel to Nepal in order to go to Dharamsala in northern India to meet the Dalai Lama, who has been living there in exile since the 1959 failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet.

The Tibetans aspire to meet their holy leader at least once in their lifetimes. "A total of 4,504 Tibetans have now been arrested in Nepal for illegal entry since 1992 and 1,643 in the last nine months and turned over to quarters concerned for necessary action," the RSS added.