Ranjan Adhikari, 33, a journalist of Gandak News and a temporary resident of Pokhara Metropolitan-9 was threatened by Shree Krishna Shrestha, 37, a temporary resident of Pokhara Metropolitan-11 on July 24, 2021 for writing news about Kalika Secondary School.
DSP Subash Hamal of the District Police Office said Shrestha was arrested by the police on July 31.
In the news, Adhikari has covered an issue of the school selling free books by making fake bills and it was published in Gandak News on July 21. The books were provided by the government for free but the school’s management had been charging the students for the books and had been sending fake bills to the students.
The school had been using the excuse of providing service to the guardians by bringing the books to the school instead of making them visit the stationery shops which were far from their area.
The accused had said that he is the husband of the Principal of the School, Mrs Nirmala Manandhar. Shree Krishna had been repeatedly calling and texting journalist Ranjan Adhikari saying that he is also an online journalist.
According to the victim, Shree Krishna kept asking him for three days to meet him and talk about the news.
Journalist Adhikari received phone calls and text messages constantly through different phone numbers on July 24.
The victim had lodged a complaint at the District Police Office, Kaski on July 24 and also asked the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) to take further action against the accused.
The victim had informed about the incident and submitted a written request to the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Kaski on July 30 for necessary assistance, said FNJ Kaski President Bimala Bhandari.
Immediately after being informed about the incident, the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) issued a statement saying that immediate action has been demanded after investigating the incident.
Though the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) was already informed verbally about the incident, the official informed the victim had informed formally only on July 30, said Bhandari.