Kathmandu, November 26

A senior journalist and founding chief information commissioner of the National Information Commission Vinaya Kumar Kasajoo, who was undergoing treatment in  Nakkhu-based Mediciti Hospital, died  today at the age of 72.

He was suffering from pneumonia, high blood pressure and diabetes. He was admitted to the hospital on November 5 and was on  ventilator support. Kasajoo breathed his last today at around 2:00 pm.

Kasajoo, a well known writer of children’s literature was one of the key persons, who contributed to form the National Information Commission. He served as chief information commissioner of the NIC from 2008 to 2012.

He has contributed immensely to community media and information and communication technology. He has also published books on mass communication, journalism and democratisation of media. He worked as an advisor for the Press Council Nepal from 1995 to 1999. He was also founding editor of Gaunle Deurali (1993), the first rural newspaper of South Asia. He is also regarded as a pioneer of community radio.

Kasajoo, born in 1947, in Tansen, Palpa, has written over 100 stories and edited hundreds of works on children’s literature. Krishnahari Baskota, chief information commissioner of NIC said, “Kasajoo was one of the key figures who fought for the right to information in the country.” According to Baskota, it was Kasajoo who ensured that students could see their answersheets of examination conducted by schools or colleges.