KATHMANDU: A police team visited journalist Dil Bhusan Pathak’s residence in Dhumbarahi on Wednesday afternoon in an attempt to arrest him over a video published on his YouTube channel.
The move came after the Kathmandu District Court issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday, following a complaint filed with the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police.
However, Pathak was not at home during the police visit, and his phone was reportedly switched off. The team has since returned to its office.
The complaint stems from a recent episode of “Tough Talk with Dil Bhusan Pathak,” where Pathak discussed alleged investments and business dealings involving Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba, and their son Jai Veer Deuba. The video included claims about Jai Veer’s involvement in a business venture connected to the Hilton Hotel in Naxal.
Although the issue concerns journalistic content—typically under the jurisdiction of the Press Council Nepal—the attempt to directly arrest a journalist through police action has sparked widespread criticism.
Appeal for Support
In response, Pathak has reached out to both the Press Council Nepal and the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), seeking their assistance.
In his formal communication to both institutions, Pathak explained that he learned—through various media sources—about the arrest warrant issued against him based on a complaint filed with the Cyber Bureau.
He noted that the police had not formally informed him about the nature of the complaint or the specific charges.
Pathak expressed concern over the lack of due process. “If anyone had concerns, disagreements, or complaints about my content, they should have approached me first,” he said. “If that failed, the proper procedure would be to file a complaint with the Press Council, which is legally mandated to investigate journalistic content.”
He questioned the intent behind invoking the Electronic Transactions Act instead of following the existing media regulatory framework: “Why bypass the Press Council and try to prosecute under criminal law? This raises serious doubts and suspicions.”
Pathak also emphasized that he has not received any official documentation or information regarding the complaint, the charges, or the questions raised against him.
He urged both the Press Council and FNJ to demand transparency from the concerned authorities and to take immediate steps to prevent what he described as a “forced attempt by the government to suppress news content.”
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