The government has intervened against the Kantipur Media Group in retaliation for publishing the news that at least 958 million rupees were embezzled from the savings collected by the common people in the cooperatives. Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ravi Lamichhane, who has been threatening the media and the opposition even from the public forum and parliament, directly intervened and arrested Kailash Sirohia, president of Kantipur.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has also supported the suppression of the press in order to preserve Lamichhane's support for the government. The police arrested him because the citizenship number issued by District Administration Office Dhanusha in Sirohia's name matched that of another person. Irony! Home Minister Lamichhane, who holds passports from two countries, himself made a decision not to proceed with the case from the Attorney General's office. On Chait 6, 2079, on the morning of Prime Minister Dahal's vote of confidence, the attorney general's office decided not to prosecute Lamichhane.

Tuesday in Kantipur Gorkha Media embezzled 958.1 million by four cooperatives,  During the period when Ravi Lamichhane was the managing director of the company, 800.31 million rupees was published in Gorkha media under the title of Confirmation. A large number of police were mobilized in the office premises of Kantipur from early morning.  

Dahal was taking the vote of confidence after breaking the alliance with the UML and starting a joint venture with the Congress. Before taking the vote of confidence, RSVP Deputy Chairman DP Aryal was sent to the Attorney General's office by Speaker Ravi Lamichhane.

Only after the Attorney General Dinmani Pokharel decided not to proceed with the case in the case of passport offence, the parliamentarians of RSVP went to the Parliament to give a vote of confidence to Prime Minister Dahal. However, Dahal and Lamichhane's government issued an arrest warrant on the pretext that Sirohia's citizenship number matched that of another person.

Kailash Sirohia, president of Kantipur Media Group, being taken to a car after his arrest from the office of the headquarters in Thapathali. Photo : Angad Dhakal/Kantipur  

Indrajit Prasad Mahato, a member of the Madhesh Pradesh Working Committee of the Home Minister's party RSVP, was asked to file a complaint against Sirohia. Deepak Bohra, co-treasurer of RSVP and personal secretary of Home Minister Lamichhane, was deployed in Janakpur for three weeks to plan the complaint. As the arrest warrant could not be issued immediately, the Bohras were moving around Kathmandu.

Lamichhane has been threatening publicly after Kantipur continued to publish news on unethical matters including co-operative fraud, despite psychological pressure by publicizing the plan to arrest Sirohia. 

In the meantime, he published a fake audio from the online program called 'Sidha Kura', which he used to run when he was a journalist, that he had a meeting with Supreme Court Justice and Kantipur Media Group Chairman Sirohia at Annapurna Post's corporate tower.

However, the Supreme Court immediately started a case with 'So-Moto' (automatic recognition) and Lamichhane's group created a new dispute of citizenship. Under the direct rule of the King, a military contingent was ushered into the Media House. The police marched in Kantipur office on Tuesday to remind the incident of 'Gyanendra Shah's Media Repression' on the President of Kantipur, who fought against the autocratic royal regime for the establishment of a democratic republic. 

The police team went to the office on the eighth floor of the Kantipur office to arrest President Sirohia while he was at work trampling the democratic practice of not allowing security agencies of the state to enter the office of the independent press.

A team including SSP Sanukumar Bhattarai and SP Ravindra Regmi of Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office entered the working room with police officers including Bardi.

On Tuesday in Kantipur, Gorkha media 958.1 million misappropriation of four cooperatives , during the period when Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ravi Lamichhane was the managing director of the company, 803.1 million rupees were received from cooperatives in Gorkha media. A large number of police were mobilized in the Kantipur office complex and Thapathali road from early morning. 

Sirohia was taken away by Bardidhari police in the presence of journalists' federation, media society, lawyers, civil leaders, parliamentarians, various media publishers and journalists at the Kantipur office complex.

At that time, media workers led by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists raised slogans against Home Minister Lamichhane and police repression and in favor of press freedom. Political parties and various organizations in the media sector have expressed their objections to this incident, saying that the state has retaliated against individuals and independent press.

In 2058, the government arrested then managing director Sirohia, director Vinodraj Gyawali and editor Yuvraj Ghimire for publishing the views of the then underground Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai in Kantipur. 

Dahal, who became the prime minister for the third time in the power of rebellion, has now supported the repressive actions of Home Minister Lamichhane, who is involved in co-operative fraud to save his power.

Nepal Samajwadi Party President Baburam Bhattarai commented on the incident of the arrest of President Sirohia 22 years ago and now, on Tuesday, he has "followed the path of Gyanendrapath".

'For whatever reason, it was not good for the government to dramatically arrest Kailash Sirohia, the president of the Kantipur publishing house,' he said, 'What is even more ironic is that the Kantipur workers, including Sirohia, were arrested by the then King Gyanendra's government for publishing my article on the Darbar massacre in May 2058 during the Maoist People's War. When arrested in this way, we strongly opposed it, including our then Supreme Commander Prachanda. Today, when he is in the place of Prachanda Gyanendra, I am very ashamed to see that he is following the path of Gyanendra.''

Home Minister Lamichhane himself is a person who has been dismissed from all public positions by the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court in the case of citizenship. However, the issue of double passport against Lamichhane has not yet been legally resolved. The final hearing is being held on this May 29 in the petition filed in the Supreme Court regarding the Attorney General's power bargaining and granting him immunity.

"The Minister of Home Affairs has been constantly talking about cooperatives in Kantipur and threatened to leave the government if the Prime Minister does not support the steps he has taken on Kantipur, then the Prime Minister forgot his role as the chief executive of the rule of law and accepted Lamichhane's stubbornness," said a member of the Council of Ministers.

Even though Lamichhane was proven to be carrying two passports, the background of the decision not to pursue the case has been forgotten by both parties, but this case has not been legally resolved. 

When Lamichhane was the managing director of Gorkha Media, there are scattered facts with evidence of misappropriation of the cooperative's savings. More than 50,000 savers are protesting against the misappropriation of savings by people like Lamichhane.

Political parties, including the main opposition, are currently obstructing the Federal Parliament. Slogans are being raised on the streets against the Home Minister. The Prime Minister was aware that Kantipur has been publishing all these events fairly. 

When he came to inaugurate the Kantipur Half Marathon only last Saturday, Prime Minister Dahal had mentioned that the Home Minister had been questioned in the Kantipur complex and that Kantipur had already raised this issue. In this background, the Prime Minister was not unaware that Home Minister Lamichhane was about to file a complaint against President Sirohia and arrest him.

On Tuesday, after the security personnel surrounded the Kantipur office, the government official warned the Prime Minister that such a move would reduce the credibility of the democratic system. Soon after, the Prime Minister also conveyed information from the Secretariat that he had discussed with the Home Minister. However, he supported Ravi Lamichhane's move to preserve his power. 

Leaders of political parties have commented that this step of the government is motivated by the intention of attracting the media.

"This decision of the coalition government with the aim of appeasing the media is regrettable," said Sher Bahadur Deuba, the leader of the main opposition party. Congress General Minister Gagan Thapa has said, 'This is an attempt to stop those who question him by misusing the access to state power, divert the topic and cover up his crime.'