Nepalese scribe who reported on Chinese encroachment found dead

The 50-year-old journalist’s body was found on the banks of Bagmati river near the hydropower project area in Mandu, Himalayan Times quoted the spokesperson at Makwanpurdistrict police office (DPO) as saying, according to an ANI report.

Balaram Baniya, the Nepalese journalist who reportedly wrote an article on Chinese encroachment in Rui village, has been found dead, police said according to local media.

A team deployed from the area’s police office in Bhimphedi fished out his body from the river and sent it to Hetauda hospital. (Getty Images/iStockphoto (Representative Image))

The 50-year-old journalist’s body was found on the banks of Bagmati river near the hydropower project area in Mandu, Himalayan Times quoted the spokesperson at Makwanpurdistrict police office (DPO) as saying, according to an ANI report.

A team deployed from the area’s police office in Bhimphedi fished out his body from the river and sent it to Hetauda hospital.

Baniya was last seen walking along the banks of Balkhu river. His location, according to his mobile phone, showed the same, after which the phone was switched off. His family had filed a missing report with the police, following which a manhunt was launched to trace him, Kathmandu Post reported.

“As per the application received for his search, which also contained his photo, it has been verified that the body that was found was that of journalist Baniya,” according to the DPO.

According to Kathmandu Post, Baniya was associated with Kantipur Daily since the paper’s initial days. He used to cover politics and parliament and later did extensive reporting on governance and bureaucracy.