Kathmandu, May 4 (PTI) The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) has asked the government to form a high-level probe committee to investigate the suspicious death of TV journalist Suresh Rajak during a protest organised by pro-monarchists in Kathmandu on March 28.

Soon after the suspicious death of Rajak, the federation had formed a seven-member committee led by FNJ vice-president Umid Prasad Bagchand to investigate into the matter.

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The report submitted by the panel concluded that a thorough investigation is essential to find out the truth, citing several unanswered questions and circumstantial inconsistencies surrounding the journalist's death.

Rajak was found dead inside a building at Tinkune which was burnt during the protest by pro-monarchy forces organised under the banner of Unified Movement to Reinstate Hindu Monarchy.

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The report said that individuals suspected to be involved in Rajak's death should be formally named as defendants in a criminal complaint for homicide.

The report has raised some questions as to why Rajak remained in the burning room when others escaped. The report has suggested identifying the persons who were present there until the last moments and who were those filming the scene of the room until the last.

It also points out the absence of his camera, damage to one of his two mobile phones, and raises the possibility of a targeted attack by demonstrators who became angry with him for filming the protests up close.

“It must be probed whether the assailants seized his equipment and prevented him from escaping,” the report states. “These critical unanswered questions demand immediate and impartial investigation.”

The FNJ also expressed concern over increasing hostility towards journalists, noting that Rajak and others may have been targeted for not supporting the pro-monarchists' cause.

Resorting to vandalism and arson in public properties around Tinkune area, the protesters had targeted the offices of Kantipur Television, the Annapurna Media Network, CPN (Unified Socialist), and Bhatbhateni Supermarket, among others.

The report criticises both the government and media houses for failing to provide physical protection or insurance for journalists working under hazardous conditions.

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