Reporter to the Sagarmatha Television Ganesh Saha was manhandled by Chief Customs Officer of Madar, Siraha Mr. Rajendra Hamal, while inquiring about the monthly customs data on May 27. Siraha district lies in Province 2 of Nepal.
Province 2 Representative for Freedom Forum, Rajan Singh, reported that the incident occurred at the Customs Office where the reporters had gone to make news about the monthly customs details.
Reporter shared that while inquiring about the same with the Customs Officer he grossly replied "I have no time to answer your queries."
After the incident, the reporter informed the Law Minister of the Province Gyan Kumar Yadav and Chief District Officer Rudra Prasad Pandit about the misbehave.
Freedom Forum condemns the hostility meted out against the reporter and urges the Customs Officer to respect the press freedom and right of the journalist to report in free atmosphere. Also, the concerned stakeholders are strongly urged to investigate about the issue seriously and to help ensure safety to the journalist.
Freedom Forum
Thapathali, Kathmandu
Post Box No: 24292
Phone No. 4102030, 4102022
Website: www.nepalpressfreedom.org; www.freedomforum.org.np
Email: monitoring@freedomforum.org.np; info@freedomforum.org.np;