Kathmandu, July 31 - The daughter of a top Maoist leader in Nepal has been arrested in France for travelling without documents while seeking asylum from the French government.

Shova Gajurel, whose father Chandra Prakash Gajurel is in charge of the international affairs of the Maoist party, is being held at the Lesquin Administrative Retention Centre in Lille town in northern France where foreigners found guilty of violating immigration laws are detained.

Shova was travelling to the France-Belgium border to meet friends when she was arrested last week near Valenciennes, a commune in northern France famed for its lace, the local committee formed to espouse her release said.

A member of the Nepal Maoist party, Shova had applied for asylum in France but her application was turned down.

She had re-applied, saying her life would be in danger if she returned to Nepal.

It was not clear immediately why she feels her life is endangered in Nepal since the Maoists are no longer a banned organisation. Both her parents and children are still living in Nepal.

The daughters of other senior Maoist leaders, like Maoist chairman and former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda's daughter Renu Dahal and former finance minister Baburam Bhattarai's daughter Manushi, are actively involved in party work in Nepal.