Kathmandu, January 27:

The attack on journalist Manoj Sah was made with the intention to kill him and priest of the Janaki Mandir Ramtapeshwar Das was behind it, a report prepared by a team of the Federation of Nepali Jouranlists (FNJ) states.

The team comprised FNJ vice-president DR Panta and central committee member Ramesh Bista.

The report, which was released today, states that people attacked Sah with the intention to murder him, in a narrow lane between Devi Chowk and Mills Area on January 17 at 7.00 pm. Sah is undergoing treatment at the TU Teaching Hospital.

“The journalist was attacked for what he had reported. This is a crime against press freedom. The government should provide relief to Sah and arrest people involved in the heinous attack,” states the report.

The report states priest Das was behind the attack on Sah because Sah was investigating issues concerning the temple. He had asked the government to end the priest’s monopoly in the temple’s income and form a trust.

“Priest Das has admitted that there was bad blood between him and the journalist because Sah wanted to make the income of the temple public. The monthly income of the temple stands at over a million rupees,” the report states. The report has raised questions on indifference of police towards the episode.