Nepal cracks down on media

By Atul Aneja

KATHMANDU, JUNE 6. The Nepal police today arrested Mr. Yuvraj Ghimire, the editor of a prominent Nepali daily for publishing, a lead article by a top Maoist leader, Mr. Baburam Bhattarai, in today's edition. Another editor belonging to Janasta, presumably a pro-Maoist newspaper, was also taken into custody.

According to authoritative sources, Mr. Ghimire, who edits Kanthipur, a sister publication of the English daily, Kathmandu Post can be charged with treason.

The article by Mr. Bhattarai which was published in Kanthipur has described the late King Birendra as a patriot who has been a victim of a conspiracy hatched by the Indian intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Mr. Ghimire is a well known-journalist who had earlier worked in India for magazines such as Outlook and India Today as well as the daily, The Indian Express.

PTI reports:

Curfew reimposed

With tension still palpable in the violence rocked capital, authorities decided to reimpose the curfew, lifted at midnight last night, from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. as a ``precautionary measure.''

UNI reports:

Meanwhile, King Gyanendra tonight finally designated the terms of reference of as well as powers to the high level fact-finding committee formed by him to probe the palace shooting incident and report the facts to the public.

According to a statement issued by the Principal Press Secretariat of the king, the committee, headed by the Supreme Court Chief Justice, Mr. Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya, has been empowered to inspect the incident venue and collect its pictorial details, collect information from those present during the incident including the security personnel deployed at the time at the palace and the doctors assigned during the treatment, hostesses and other people who the committee feels necessary to contact, inspect the weapons, bullets and other related materials and obtain details of treatment from the hospital, seek necessary help from experts about the incident and take help from people whom the committee deems necessary to obtain information. The duration of the committee's work shall be three days.

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Section  : International
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