He was mistreated and taken into custody by the police while taking a photo during a symbolic protest against the agreement between Gen-G and the government.
Photojournalist Barsha Shah has been mistreated by the police while taking a picture in front of the Prime Minister's residence in Baluwatar on Tuesday.
The police mistreated and took him into custody while he was taking a photo during a symbolic protest against the agreement between Gen-G and the government. According to journalist Shah, the police pressured him to delete the photo when he captured the scene of the police taking control of the protesters in front of the Baluwatar gate. Shah said that the police did not listen to him even when he told them that he was a journalist and had the right to take photos in public places.
‘After taking the photo, a security guard and a civilian came and asked him to delete the photo,’ Shah said. ‘When I said I did not have the right, they grabbed my hand and started dragging me, and also took away my mobile phone.’
Kathmandu Police Superintendent of Police (SP) Pawan Bhattarai said that he was not arrested. He said, ‘They held him thinking he was a protester. Later, when we learned that he was a journalist, we let him go. We did not arrest him.’
But Varsha said she was arrested and kept in the police station in front of the Prime Minister's Office. Shah, who was taken into custody around 5:30 pm, was released around 8:30 pm.
