Date : April 27, 2026

News-Related Matters The attention of the Federation of Nepal Journalists (FNJ) has been drawn to the fact that the District Police Office, Kanchanpur, has issued an arrest warrant for journalist Basudev Dhami (Bimal) by filing a cybercrime case against him, ignoring the jurisdiction of the Press Council Nepal.

The Federation Kanchanpur branch has stated that a case has been registered under the Electronic Transactions Act and an arrest warrant has been issued based on a complaint filed by Shanti Nath, Vice-Chairman of Beldandi Rural Municipality, Kanchanpur, regarding the news published in Paschim Samachar Dainik Online, run by Dhami.

The Federation expresses its objection to the criminal charges being filed against journalist Dhami by the administration, interfering with the jurisdiction of the Council. The Federation believes that this act, done in violation of the law, is against the complete freedom of the press as mentioned in the Constitution.

Similarly, the Federation is concerned about the fact that Dhami's family is also being directly or indirectly threatened.

Therefore, the Federation urges the Press Council Nepal to take this matter under its jurisdiction and the police to back down from this step. In addition, we demand from the relevant parties to ensure proper security arrangements for the family of journalist Dhami.

Ram Prasad Dahal

Secretary General