Why did Basnet’s men attack Giri, who is himself facing a murder charge? Because Basnet wanted to take revenge against him for an attempt Giri and his men had made on his life some time ago. Dhakal’s only fault was that he reported the court incident and the motive behind it in detail, unlike other local journalists. On the day the story was published Basnet called Dhakal at his office and warned him of the consequences, and in the evening, understandably at Basnet’s behest and under the leadership of Youth Force Biratnagar Municipality unit chief Rohit Koirala, Dhakal was abducted with an intention to kill. Luckily, Dhakal escaped from the clutches of the goons, but not without serious injury. He underwent surgery today and is recuperating.
Four days after the incident and even after a murder case was filed by the Biratnagar chapter of journalists’ representative organization Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), Basnet remains at large. There are doubts that he will ever come under the police net, given the political pressure on the police and home administration not to arrest him.
There are even doubts that given the nexus between criminals, politicians and the police, a serious effort will ever be made to arrest Basnet. For a moment let’s concede that police are trying their best to arrest him but he has so far managed to escape. But what’s stopping UML party Chairman and Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal from suspending Basnet and Koirala from party responsibilities? If Prime Minister Khanal is serious about this incident, he must immediately sack Basnet; otherwise, it makes no sense for him to condemn the incident or to make verbal pledges that he is committed to protecting journalists and their right to report independently.
This whole incident—the attack on journalist Dhakal and the apparent impunity that the assailants are enjoying—should be seen in a larger perspective. How come this man, who has such a dubious background and amassed his property overnight, became chief of the Morang Youth Force in the first place? Don’t our political parties have the responsibility to select leaderships with integrity and character?
Unfortunately, such questions feel out of place in contemporary Nepali politics. The leaderships of the political parties in the districts are increasingly becoming linked to criminal elements on whose strength they thrive and whom they use to enhance their influence and their affluence. So long as this criminals-politicians nexus continues, it will threaten press freedom and undermine democracy itself.
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