KATHMANDU, Jan 23 - The security men on Saturday night detained Khem Bhandari, editor of local daily 'Mahendranagar Post' and 'Abhiyan tabloid' from the Campus road in Mahendranagar.
Bhandari was arrested before 9 p m, when the curfew begins in the area, while he was returning home.
Security officials claimed that he was taken into custody for an argument with the patrol team. The security men are also said to have been preparing to file a manhandling against him.
NepalNews adds:Local administration has arrested Khem Bhandari, editor and publisher of "Abhiyan" daily newspaper, published from the far-western town of Mahendranagar on Saturday.
According to reports, Bhandari was manhandled and arrested as he was returning to his residence from office Saturday evening. No reason was given.
The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) has condemned the arrest of Bhandari and said he was being tortured even in detention as per the order of Mahakali regional administrator, Ganesh Sherchan. The FNJ alleged that Sherchan is trying to take personal revenge with Bhandari in connection with the news reports published in the daily.
The authorities have not said any thing regarding the arrest of editor Bhandari.
Bhandari was also detained for nearly two weeks in February last year after the royal takeover.
Meanwhile, FNJ has said it is sending a fact-finding mission to the Far-Western region to monitor the violations of press freedom in the region. Vice president of FNJ, D. R. Panta, will be leading the mission.
