It is learnt that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had asked Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane not to arrest Kantipur Media Group Chairman Kailash Sirohiya immediately.
PM Dahal reportedly said so to Home Minister Lamichhane when they met in the Federal Parliament building at New Baneshwar, Kathmandu, before the House of Representatives meeting on Tuesday.
PM Dahal’s Press Advisor Govinda Acharya said that the prime minister had no involvement in Sirohiya’s arrest.
“The prime minister has no involvement in the arrest of Kantipur’s chairman,” Acharya told Setopati. “After learning that the court had issued an arrest warrant, the prime minister asked the home minister on the way to Parliament not to arrest Sirohiya right now.”
“But the government, prime minister and home minister do not have the authority to stop the court’s warrant. Police have said that Sirohiya should be arrested as an arrest warrant has been issued,” Acharya said. “The government has talked about arresting Sirohiya.”
Earlier in the day, a bench of Dhanusha District Court Judge Chitra Bahadur Gurung issued an arrest warrant for Sirohiya.
A complaint had been filed at the District Police Office, Dhanusha, accusing Sirohiya of acquiring two citizenship certificates.
Dhanusha Police said that the citizenship number of Sirohiya and another person is the same.
Issuing a statement after news reports about the complaint, Sirohiya stated that he acquired his citizenship certificate in 2034 BS and acquired a copy of that 23 years later. He argued that he cannot be held responsible if the number on the citizenship certificate acquired by another person two years after he acquired his is the same.
He also pointed that Himalayan Insurance itself has clarified that his citizenship number was mistyped in the company's memorandum of association and added that the documents submitted to the Office of the Company Registrar also includes a photocopy of his citizenship certificate.
