The suspects are facing five to 15 years' imprisonment if convicted for their attack on journalist Kishor Budhathoki.
(Freedom Forum/IFEX) – The Sankhuwasabha District Court, on September 15, 2011, remanded to custody the people believed to have attacked journalist Kishor Budhathoki.
According to the record keeper at the District Court, Prakash Ghimire, both assailants, Bikas Rai and Rupak Rai, were remanded to custody pending trial as per the General Code of Court Management section 118 (2).
Budhathoki, a Sankhuwasabha-based reporter with the “Annapurna Post” and “The Himalayan Times”, was attacked with sharp weapons by Bikas and Rupak Rai at around 9 p.m. on August 11, 2011, and suffered serious injuries.
According to Ghimire, they could be sentenced to five to 15 years’ imprisonment if convicted. Ghimire said the court was collecting evidence in the case.
Budhathoki had bruises all over his body and his arm was dislocated. He is still undergoing treatment at Biratnagar-based Nobel Medical College. His health is improving, according to a hospital source.
Freedom Forum welcomes the court’s decision to undertake further investigations into the incident so that the culprits can face justice. Such an initiative by the concerned authority undoubtedly helps to deter the growing impunity in the country.
