The secretariat of Prime Minister Balen Shah has said that it was unaware of the crackdown on journalists.
On Friday, police arrested three journalists directly from their newsrooms.
As police continued searching for three other journalists, Dipa Dahal, press expert and adviser at the Prime Minister’s Office, said that she was unaware of the incidents.
“The Prime Minister’s Secretariat and the Prime Minister’s Office were not involved in the arrests of the journalists. We had received no information about the matter. As soon as the prime minister learned of the incident, he instructed the authorities concerned to immediately release the detained journalists ,” she told Setopati.
A minister also told Setopati that the government had no information regarding the matter.
“The government has no information about this matter. It appears to have been an operation carried out solely by the police. When I inquired at the Prime Minister’s Office, officials there said that they were unaware of it,” the minister said.
Journalist Bishwamani Subedi of Nepal Press; Dhiraj Basnet, editor-in-chief of DNA Khabar; and Shobharaj Baral, editor-in-chief of Motivate News, were arrested on Friday.
Dahal said that instructions had already been issued for their immediate release.
Meanwhile, police are searching for Sudip Bishwakarma, editor-in-chief of Diyopost.com; Rita Budhathoki, an editor at the same outlet; and Nawaraj Mainali, a journalist with Naya Patrika.
Police entered the offices of some media outlets and detained journalists, while visiting other newsrooms to search for additional journalists.
