Kathmandu, September 20: Political analyst and chairman of Trimool Nepal Varat Dahal has been arrested from Sundarharaicha in Morang. According to Morang police, Dahal was arrested on Sunday morning from the tea shop of Gauri Dhakal in Salakpur, Sundarharaicha Municipality-8.
Morang Police Chief Superintendent of Police Kavit Katwal said Dahal was taken into custody at the request of the Cyber Bureau after the Kathmandu District Court issued an arrest warrant against him. According to him, preparations are underway to send Dahal to Kathmandu by air today itself for further investigation.
“We are preparing to send him to Kathmandu by air at 2 p.m.,” Superintendent Katwal said.
According to him, no complaint has been filed against Dahal in Morang. Police said the Cyber Bureau will proceed with the investigation after he is taken to Kathmandu.
Dahal had come to eastern Nepal on September 18 to participate in political discussions and programmes. He was taken into custody while preparing to return to Kathmandu today after attending a discussion programme on Saturday.
In recent times, Dahal had been publicly expressing his views on the government and contemporary political developments. He had particularly been critical of the government led by Balendra Shah (Balen).
Dahal’s colleagues, however, have described his arrest as a crackdown on a voice that had been raising questions about political ideas, as well as the exercise of power and the system of governance.
They have accused the state machinery of being misused following the recent political developments.
Police have not made public detailed information about the specific statement or offence in connection with which Dahal was arrested. Police said further details would emerge as the investigation into Dahal proceeds.
However, it has been claimed that the Prime Minister’s Secretariat had been exerting pressure for his arrest for a week. He had reportedly come under scrutiny after the US media outlet Grayzone published a report on the Gen-Z movement in Nepal.
On September 13, he had shared The Grayzone report under the headline “Another Explosion in an American Newspaper.” The report also claimed that some of Nepal’s new political leaders, activists and prominent figures have links with various organisations and projects operated with US assistance.
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