The Federation of Nepali Journalists ( FNJ ) has condemned the arrest of journalist Sushil Pant over a news published online.
The Metropolitan Police Crime Investigation Division (MPCID) arrested Pant, the editor of nepaliheadlines.com, on Thursday on the charge of "defaming" Dillibazar Multiple Kanya Campus through the piece.
Two other journalists--Santosh Bhattarai of nepaliheadlines.com and Pushkar Kandel of extrakhabar.com--were also arrested in the same case.
In a statement, FNJ acting General Secretary Jagat Nepal expressed serious concerns over their arrest. "The Press Council is the right body to penalise a journalist if s/he is found to have violated ethics and laws," the statement read. "The arrest of journalists is unlawful, as the police have exceeded their jurisdiction."
According to the police, the arrestees were found to have posted a news item that said brinjals were found in the campus restrooms.
MPCID chief SSP Bijay Lal Kayastha said that the police first arrested Kandel on June 10 from his home district Palpa after preliminary investigations into the case as complained by Kanya Campus Principal Bhola Regmi.
Regmi claimed that the news posted online was baseless. "It's a conspiracy to defame the college and the students," he said. According to him, the news first appeared on extrakhabar.com, some three weeks ago. Regmi had then lodged a complaint against the portal at the National Women's Commission (NWC) and the MPCO.
According to the police, Panta and Bhattarai of nepaliheadlines.net were also found to have published an extract of the same content from extrakhabar.com. Panta and Bhattarai were held on Thursday.
All the three arrestees were presented to the Kathmandu District Court on Friday. The district court remanded the arrestees in seven-day custody of Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range Hanumandhoka. The arrestees may be prosecuted under both the Electronic Transaction Act (2008) and the cyber crime laws, said DSP Surendra Mainali of the MPCID. As per the law, the arrestees, if proven guilty, could face a fine up to Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000 and/or a jail term up to 5 years depending on the severity of the crime.
Meanwhile, the Nepal Press Council on Thursday asked the police to hand over the case to the Council. In a meeting between Press Council officials and the police at Hanumandhoka on Friday morning, Council Chairman Borna Bahadur Karki and members Kishor Shrestha and Khil Bahadur Bhandari appealed to the police to hand over the arrestees to the Council. "Police officials are positive about our appeal," said Karki, adding that the arrested journalists could be handed over to the Council after the police complete their preliminary investigations.
Online journalists held for news item
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