The Chinese Embassy in Nepal has objected to a controversial 'audio' involving Jana Aastha Weekly Chairman Kishor Shrestha and former Home Minister Sudhan Gurung after it was made public. The audio, which was made public by a Facebook page called 'Youth of Birgunj', claims that journalist Shrestha took money to write a story against Gurung, while Shrestha claims that it was a planned conspiracy using Chinese citizens to defame him.

A 3-minute and 3-second long audio was made public by a Facebook page called 'Youth of Birgunj-YOB' at 10:41 am on Sunday. The audio, which is claimed to be 'exclusive', alleges that Jana Aastha Weekly Editor-in-Chief Kishor Shrestha took one million rupees and a bottle of alcohol to write a story against Sudhan Gurung.

The audio contains an audio recording of a conversation in English, which is claimed to be the voice of journalist Shrestha. In the conversation, unknown people have praised the journalism of a person named 'Kishor' and urged him to continue it. In particular, the person named 'Sudhan Gurung' has been discussed in the conversation saying that he is not right for them and is a 'dangerous person'. In addition, the conversation is heard asking for sending a 'gift', later inquiring about the arrival or not of '1 lakh rupees and a bottle of alcohol', and requesting further coordination through the 'Signal' app. A few hours after the

audio was released, journalist Kishor Shrestha has refuted the 'exclusive audio' by posting 11 photos on social media at 1:53 pm on Sunday. He has claimed that there is a planned conspiracy to defame him and his media. Shrestha has accused former Home Minister Gurung of repeatedly calling from Chinese numbers and trying to create public opinion against him.

According to Shrestha, a person using the names 'Mr. Ying' and 'Mr. M' had sought confirmation of Ravi Lamichhane's release from the Kaski court over the phone. He then mentioned that they had talked about 'Ravi and others not letting Sudhan become the Home Minister' and had asked a young woman to leave alcohol and cash at the office gate in the evening.

Sudhan Gurung, who had been deployed as a volunteer in the Gen-G movement, had become the Home Minister in the Balendra Shah-led government. He resigned on April 28 after questions arose about Gurung's assets and share investment with controversial businessman Deepak Bhatt.

On April 28, the Council of Ministers had formed a committee under the chairmanship of former High Court judge Achyut Prasad Bhandari to investigate Gurung's case. The committee has 3 members, including Comptroller General Shobha Kant Poudel and Associate Attorney Achyutmani Neupane.

Even as the committee is being formed and an investigation is underway, there is talk that he will become the Home Minister again. Some people had staged a sit-in at Maitighar demanding that he be made the Home Minister again.

Janaastha is also one of the media outlets that made public the share connection between Sudhan Gurung and Deepak Bhatta. Since then, Janaastha has been writing news about Sudhan. Shrestha claims that the person who contacted him from a Chinese number offered him money and alcohol, saying that he was writing regular news about Sudhan.

Shrestha wrote on social media, 'Now Ravi will not let Sudhan become the Home Minister, we all have to stop Sudhan together,' and it was seen that he sent a girl wearing a mask and dark glasses in the evening and left alcohol and 50 thousand rupees at the gate. Later, Sudhan Gurung is a very bad person, he had to be stopped from becoming the Home Minister by any means, he also received a written temptation that he would give 1 million. Even when he did not pick up the phone, the messages kept coming.'

Shrestha clarified that he did not ask for any gift or money and rejected such offers. He said that the police have been informed about the incident and an investigation has been started. Gautam Mishra, the spokesperson of the police complex, said that the Jana Aastha office had submitted a complaint to the District Police Complex, Lalitpur, on Saturday (Jeshta 9). 'The complaint is being investigated, the identity of the person has not been found, we are understanding,' he said.

Shrestha has also released a CCTV footage on Facebook, in which a young woman wearing a mask and dark glasses is seen placing some items at the gate.

After the allegation that 'a Chinese citizen called and asked him to write a news story against Sudhan Gurung' was made public, the Chinese Embassy in Nepal has issued a press note expressing its objection to it. In a statement issued through the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, the embassy has completely rejected the allegation.

'We strongly condemn such activities that deliberately tarnish China's image,' the embassy statement said. The embassy has clarified that China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and has consistently supported the protection of Nepal's national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The embassy has urged relevant Nepali agencies to conduct a serious, thorough and impartial investigation into this incident and to take legal action against the planners involved. Stating that discretion and understanding are necessary to end the rumors, the embassy also stated that China is ready to further strengthen law enforcement and security cooperation with Nepal.

Meanwhile, journalist Shrestha has claimed that the audio was deliberately 'edited' to spread confusion. Talking to Kantipur, Shrestha said, 'He recorded the audio, filtered it, edited it and kept only what he wanted.' However, he deleted the reply I gave him, 'Don't do such things.'