Freedom Forum has been concerned over the manhandling of journalists by a security person while reporting in Lahan of Siraha, a district in the southern plain of Nepal on March 18, 2013.
Four reporters affiliated to different media were manhandled by an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police while they were photographing and visualizing an examination of the School Leaving Certificate being held in a local school.
Talking to Freedom Forum's media monitoring desk, reporter to the National News Agency (RSS), Manilal BK, said, "He and three other friends were manhandled by the ASI Jayram Singh when they were visualizing the SLC exam and making news."
According to him, ASI Singh also seized two cameras and mobile from his friends, reasoning they could not photograph the exam.
Other fellows manhandled along with BK were Santosh Subedi of the Gorkhapatra daily, Raj Kumar Raut of the Kantipur daily, and Ram Babu Yadav of Annapurna Post daily.
The reporters were there to report whether there was any malpractice on the part of examinees during the exam.
Freedom Forum therefore urges local administration and police to censure ASI Singh and return the camera mobile seized respecting journalists' right to profession.
Such misbehavior on journalists would affect free and fair journalism, the FF concludes.
For more information,
Freedom Forum
monitoring@freedomforum.org.np
01-4102030/ 4102022