User:Crtew/Devi Prasad Dhital

Devi Prasad Dhital, also known as Hemraj, (ca. 1968 – July 22, 2010), a Nepali media entrepreneur and chairman of the community FM radio station in Tulsipur, Dang, Nepal, was murdered in Urahari, located in the mid-western district of Dang. While the motive is still unknown, he was the third media mogul to be killed in Nepal since the start of 2010. Dhital was a businessman and human rights activist in his district.

Personal
Devi Prasad Dhital, who also went by “Hemraj”,  was born in ca. 1968 and lived in the village of Urahari in Dang, Nepal. More than a businessman, Dhital was also a long time active member of the ruling political party Nepali Congress and a member of the Human Rights and Peace Society, where he became successful as a local human rights activist. Before his murder, Dhital was working on a campaign for local village committee elections of the NCP, which is a coalition partner in the interim caretaker government of Nepal. Dhital also had many social commitments, and donated to local charities. He was married to his wife with whom he shared two daughters, aged seven and nine at the time of his death, and he is survived by his parents and his younger brother. He was 45 years old when he died on July 22, 2010 in a local Rapti Zone Hospital, located in the Mid-Western Development Region of Nepal'''. '''

Career
Dhital was a media mogul and entrepreneur working as chairman of Tulsipur FM, a radio station bordering Uttar pradesh in the western district of Dang. Dhital chaired a trust that ran Tulsipur FM, which was created in 2005 thanks to international donor assistance. The community radio station currently runs on advertising revenue that amounts to 250,000 Nepalese Rupees a month. 17 journalists are employed at the station which manages to generate content by breaking even with a nominal level of donor assistance. Tulsipur FM like other community radio stations in Nepal are very important in delivering information to the public. The number of FM radio stations has reached 475—328 of which are operating regularly. Dhital was working at a time when the media community was trying to function in a fragile post-conflict scenario.

Death
While on his way home from the Fulbari VDC, Devi Prasad Dhital was shot off of his motorcycle at Urahari, around 12 kilometers from Tulsipur and 280 miles west of Kathmandu at 8:45 p.m. on a Thursday night. Witnesses claimed that four or five people were involved in the attack. [state] The attackers weren’t familiar with the area but had been spotted there previously Dhital was shot once off of his motorcycle, and after running into a neighboring compound, the unidentified assailants fired two more shots at his chest His brother was the first person on the scene about fifteen minutes after the shooting. Dhital was rushed to Rapti Zone Hospital where he died from his chest injuries. The unmasked attackers were last seen running across a field to the east of the street, although the police did arrest a man suspected of being one of the killers. The motive behind the murder is still unknown and it is currently under investigation.

Context
In 2010, the deterioration of law in Nepal created a dangerous environment for journalists. Nepal’s constitution has also been criticized for not guaranteeing freedom of press, opinion, and expression. Even though Nepalese media were creating and distributing diverse news, both journalists and other media workers experienced an increased level of violence and threats. Nepal has been ranked seventh out of twelve countries where members of the media are killed persistently and the governments cannot or refuse to prosecute the murderers. Devi Prasad Dhital was one of three media entrepreneurs that were murdered in Nepal in the year 2010. The others included Jamim Shah, chairperson of Spacetime Network, and Arun Singhaniya, publisher of Janakpur Today. There was also a total of 37 threats, 16 attacks, and 4 torching incidents involving journalists and attack groups. The motive for the killing of Dhital and the other journalists is still unknown.

Impact
Devi Prasad Dhital worked for one of the operating radio stations in Nepal that plays an influential and important role in disseminating news and information to the public. The FM radio station encouraged more people to read the newspaper after listening. Dhital was campaigning for Nepali Congress elections at the time of his death. His business interests, philanthropy, and other social commitments positively influenced his society, and there are no signs that any of these activities lead to his murder.

Reactions
The director-general of unesco, Irina Bokova condemned the murder of Devi Prasad Dhital, stating that “Acts of violence against journalists are attacks on freedom of expression, a fundamental human right. They cannot be tolerated in a democratic society. I count on the Nepalese authorities to investigate thoroughly and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

The Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies, also known as CEHURDES, condemned the killing and targeting of the media community, “shocked” at the murder and demanded justice.

The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, AMARC, expressed anger and shock at the killing, stating that they “deplore such heinous criminal act.”

TEMPORARY URL HOLDER
Later: *kathmandupost1
 * nepalpressfreedom
 * hindustantimes
 * thehimalayantimes1
 * thehimalayantimes2
 * nepalhomepage
 * rsf1
 * ifex
 * nepalnews1
 * highbeam1
 * highbeam2
 * highbeam3
 * justice
 * ncf
 * kas
 * state
 * nepalnews2
 * nepalnews3
 * isiswomen
 * ifj
 * pbi-nepal
 * unesco
 * unesco2
 * cpj
 * journalistsunderfire
 * usembassy