KATHMANDU, Sept 18: Police on Friday evening arrested Rajesh Ahiraj Jha, editor of Madheshbani weekly and media secretary to Vice-president Paramnanda Jha, in the capital for publishing an advertisement by an underground Terai outfit for vacant posts in its army.
The advertisement published in the newspaper on its Friday issue called for applications for ´nine different vacant posts´ in the army of one Tarai Mukti Morcha (Rajan Mukti).
Metropolitan Police Range Kathmandu (MPRK) will prosecute the 32-year-old Jha, a resident of Sangrampur-4 in Rautahat district, on the charge of treason, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ramesh Kharel said. “The advertisement aims at undermining the sovereignty, unity and indivisiblity of the nation,” he added.
Police arrested Jha in a raid at the weekly´s office at Hanumansthan at around 5:30 PM. Police also seized four computers, a lap-top and other documents.
Jha had reportedly claimed during primary interrogation that he intended the advert to be of help in enouraging the underground outfits to renounce violence. “I actually thought of giving them public exposure,” he was quoted as saying.
Jha also tried to plead innocence saying he himself is a son of a police inspector, sources said.
According to MPRK sources, Jha admitted during interrogation that he has also been working for the Vice-president Jha for two months as an assistant personal secretary.
Jha is the Chairman of one Madhesh Media House, an NGO, which runs the weekly together with its English edition Voice of Madhesh. The NGO also frequently hosts media interactions with political leaders.
TMM (Rajan Mukti) is one of the leading underground criminal outfits active in central and eastern Tarai and allegedly responsible for many brutal killings of civilians and political leaders over a couple of years. The outfit held talks with the government last year but again went underground following a leadership dispute.
The chief commander of the group, Rajan Jha of Dhanusha district, is now in India and his younger brother Manoj has been taking charge of criminal activities in his absence.
After TMM (Rajan Mukti) had circulated the same advertisement to the local media in Dhanusha a few days ago, it was covered there as a news.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=23432
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