A group of locals pelted stones at the office of Marchwar Sandesh weekly in Rupandehi on July 31. Rupandehi district lies in Lumbini Province of Nepal.
A group of four locals hurled stones at the office however, no huge damage has been reported.
Editor of the weekly Hridayram Gupta shared with Freedom Forum that on July 29 he was reporting on the pile of rice sacks found unattended on the roadside near the border area. "While I was asking questions to a person carrying sacks, another approached me with half-covered face and asked why I needed the details about those sacks", said editor Gupta.
"As the guy started calling someone, I also called nearby Area Police Office for my safety and informed them about the sacks. Thereafter, I left the place. Recently, smuggling of rice has increased in Marchwar area", said Gupta adding, "Then, I received a call the other day requesting to talk to police to release their rice sacks. I told them that it was not matter of my concern."
On the day of incident, four people reached the office asking for the editor Gupta. As Gupta was not in the office, they waited for him for two hours and threw stones while returning back.
Editor Gupta has filed complaint at the local police station.
Freedom Forum is concerned over the incident. Attack on the media house is violation of press freedom and threat to journalists' safety.
For more information,
Freedom Forum
monitoring@freedomforum.org.np