Nepal media house chairman arrested over citizenship issue

Kantipur Media Group chairman arrested over citizenship issues, claims arrest is politically motivated and an attack on media.

The police on Tuesday arrested Kailash Sirohiya, chairman of Kantipur Media Group (KMG), which publishes the Kantipur vernacular daily, over citizenship issues.

A team of police on Tuesday evening arrested Mr. Sirohiya from his office in Kathmandu.

Mr. Sirohiya’s detention follows an arrest warrant by Dhanusha District Court earlier on Tuesday, days after a case was filed at the Dhanusha District Police Office that there were some issues with Mr. Sirohiya’s citizenship.

Mr. Sirohiya has denied charges. In a statement, he said that he had acquired his citizenship as per the Nepali law and that he is a bonafide citizen of Nepal.

“The moment the issue had surfaced, I had made it clear through a social media post that I am open to any investigation by any competitive authority,” Mr. Sirohiya said. “But till date there has not been any single interrogation, and suddenly this arrest warrant has been issued.”

Mr. Sirohiya called the arrest an act of vengeance by Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane.

Mr. Lamichhane has been embroiled in a controversy over allegations that he misappropriated cooperative funds when he was the Managing Director of a television company, and Kantipur, a widely read Nepali language paper, has run a series of reports about him over the past few months.