Journalist arrested, released

Nepalgunj, February 4:

Security forces detained Govinda Sharma, a reporter of a local vernacular daily Hamro Samrachana published from Nepalgunj, for about an hour today.

The security forces at a security check post at the entrance of Nepalgunj had taken Sharma in control at noon when he was heading towards Nepalgunj from his house at Khajura.

Journalist Sharma later said security forces held him saying he was a Maoist because he shook hands with coordinator of CIVICT Suresh Gautam and human rights activist Top Bahadur Khadka, who were also coming to Nepalgunj from Khajura. Sharma was released after an hour-long interrogation. Sharma said the security forces also misbehaved with him.

He added that when he told the security forces that he was a journalist, they said journalists, human right activists and Maoists were all same.

Press Chautari, Banke, HimRights Life Line, CIVICT, Banke chapter of Federation of Nepalese Journalists and Hamro Samrachana issued statements condemning the incident.