Eminent Nepali Editor Kanak Mani Dixit was arrested on Friday by Commission of Investigation into the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) amidst allegations of financial irregularities he reportedly committed in a cooperative transport company.
Mr. Dixit who runs a media house and is among the prominent commentators on South Asian affairs was arrested by a team of 20 policemen from Patan Dhoka area of Kathmandu.
“While the CIAA’s investigations are related to Mr. Dixit’s role in the Sajha Yatayat, a cooperative bus service, we in Himal Southasian have full faith in our leadership and in the due process of law,” said a web statement put out by Himal Southasia, the magazine that Mr. Dixit runs in Kathmandu.
However soon after the arrest, concern of vendetta has risen in the Nepali civil society in view old differences between Mr. Dixit and the chief of CIAA, Lokman Singh Karki. “My arrest was part of vendetta for having his [Lokan Singh Karki] appointment to the CIAA Chief’s post in the past,” Mr. Dixit told Kathmandu Post over phone from the CIAA custody.
The CIAA said on Friday that Mr. Dixit was arrested according to the CIAA Act 2048 (1991) Section 19.1 ( C ) for his defiance and non-cooperation in its investigation. Nepali sources however told The Hindu that there were strong possibilities of a vendetta campaign against Mr. Dixit’s independent line on several issues being pursued by the government of Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli.
Mr. Dixit has been a staunch supporter of Nepal’s sovereign rights and has often mobilised civil society members for democratic struggle.
