Ousted Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was arrested early on Wednesday from his residence on alleged graft charges, a week after he refused to appear before a royal anti-corruption commission set up by King Gyanendra.

Armed policemen arrived at Deuba's residence in Budhanilkantha, 10 km from Kathmandu, shortly after 2am, cut off telephone and electricity lines and forcefully took him into custody, Nepali Congress spokesman Minendra Rijal told
PTI.

The 59-year-old former prime minister was arrested after he rejected a summons to appear before the Royal Corruption Control Commission for questioning over allegations of committing irregularities while awarding the multi-million dollar contract of the ADB-funded Melamchi Drinking Water Project.

The commission, set up shortly after King Gyanendra seized power on February 1, had also charged Deuba with distributing unauthorised funds to party workers.

Rijal termed the action inhuman and said the whereabouts of the senior leader were not known after the arrest.