Nepali scribe gets 1 hr jail term for 'sensationalising', publishing 'twisted' news of rape incident

A Nepal court on Tuesday sentenced a journalist to a symbolic one hour jail term and slapped a fine of Rupee 1 on him for "sensationalising" the rape of a minor girl and publishing "twisted" news of the incident. Journalist Khem Bhandari, who works in a newspaper, denied the charges and claimed that he has done nothing wrong.

Kanchanpur district court convicted Bhandari in a defamation case after finding him guilty of "sensationalising" the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl last year and "publishing twisted news" of the incident, police said here. He was sentenced to one hour jail term and Re 1 fine was slapped on him, they said.

Police arrested Bhandari from Kanchanpur district court premises shortly after the verdict was announced and released him an hour later, charging Re 1 as fine. The minor girl was abducted and raped last year in Kanchanpur district. The culprit is yet to be arrested.