CPJ calls for an end to impunity following Nepalese murder

Local and international media reports say Shah, a successful entrepreneur with many media and other business interests was killed Sunday evening by two masked gunmen on motorbikes in Kathmandu’s Lazimpat district. Shah died during treatment at a nearby hospital an hour later, the reports said.

“Police should act quickly to find Shah’s killers and determine their motives,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “The government has yet to make good on its assurances that it made when it came to power that killers of journalists will not receive political protection.”

Nepal ranked eighth on CPJ’s Global Impunity Index, with at least five journalists’ murders unsolved. 

Shah was a controversial figure, and with several well-documented public conflicts with the government and business competitors. The independent Indian Asia News International reported that Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal had visited Shah’s family on Monday to assure them that the government would pursue the case. The BBC reported that police investigating the attack have not been able to establish a motive so far. CPJ continues to investigate a possible link to Shah’s work.