The Kathmandu District Police Range has formally urged media outlets to verify the authenticity of reports about alleged fixer Inam Sapkota before publishing them and to avoid releasing sensitive details, evidence and other information connected to the ongoing investigation. The appeal comes amid a swirl of media coverage linking Sapkota, who remains in police custody, to senior police officials, judges and political figures, including Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dan Bahadur Karki and judge Hari Phuyal.

The request was made public through press statements issued by the range's information officer, SP Dan Bahadur Thapa, and represents the most direct response yet from the police to the reports circulating about the high-profile custody case.

Police ask media to verify reports and withhold evidence

In the statements, the Kathmandu District Police Range set out a clear two-part message for newsrooms. First, media houses should confirm the authenticity of any news about Sapkota before it is published, a point highlighted in coverage by Nepal Press, which reported that the police want the "officiality" of news about Sapkota to be confirmed. Second, the range asked editors and reporters to keep sensitive material out of the public domain for the time being.

According to the statements, the range's appeal to the media can be summarised as follows:

  • Verify the authenticity of reports concerning Sapkota before publication.
  • Avoid publishing sensitive details connected to the case.
  • Refrain from releasing evidence and investigation-related information while the probe is under way.

The request to withhold evidence was directly tied to the state of the investigation. As reported by Nagarik News, the police said evidence should not be made public because the investigation into Sapkota is still ongoing. The range, which has been at the centre of the case given that Sapkota is in custody in Kathmandu, positioned the appeal as a matter of protecting the integrity of the probe rather than restricting reporting in general.

The statements were issued in the name of SP Dan Bahadur Thapa, the information officer of the Kathmandu District Police Range, indicating that the force has chosen its official spokesperson channel to communicate its position rather than leaving individual officers to respond to the growing number of media reports.

Reports linked Sapkota to senior officials, judges and politicians

The police appeal followed reports alleging connections between Sapkota and an array of high-ranking individuals across the security establishment, the judiciary and politics. Among the names mentioned in the reports were IGP Dan Bahadur Karki, the head of Nepal Police, and judge Hari Phuyal, as Khabarhub reported in its coverage of the police statements.

Sapkota has been described in the reports as an alleged fixer, and he is currently in police custody while the investigation against him continues. The police have not presented the reported connections as established facts; rather, it is the publication of such claims, and the sensitive material attached to them, that prompted the range to intervene publicly.

The seriousness with which the force is treating the matter was underlined by the language of its response. Nepal Police said the reports have drawn its serious attention, a phrase typically reserved for matters the organisation considers to be of significant institutional concern.

Police claim attempts to drag the force into controversy

Alongside its appeal to the media, Nepal Police made a pointed claim of its own: attempts are being made to drag the security organisation into controversy. The statement signals that the force views the wave of reports not merely as coverage of an individual case, but as something that touches the reputation of the institution as a whole.

By framing the issue this way, the police have linked their request for media restraint to the defence of the organisation's standing. The range's statements suggest the force believes that unverified reporting, or the premature disclosure of evidence, could complicate an investigation that has not yet concluded, while the broader controversy risks implicating the security body itself in a matter that remains before the investigators.

Maoist Centre chief whip demands impartial investigation

The case has also entered the political arena. CPN (Maoist Centre) chief whip Yubaraj Dulal has demanded an impartial investigation into the alleged nexus between Sapkota and high-ranking officials. His intervention adds a parliamentary dimension to a story that has so far been driven by police statements and media reports, and it places the demand for accountability squarely on the record of a major political party.

Dulal's call effectively covers both sides of the controversy: the accusations against Sapkota himself and the reported connections he is said to have with senior figures in the police, the judiciary and politics. An impartial investigation, as framed by the Maoist Centre chief whip, would need to examine that alleged nexus without regard to the rank or position of those involved.

With police urging verification, evidence staying behind closed doors, and a senior lawmaker demanding a fair probe, the Inam Sapkota case has become a test of how the competing demands of investigative confidentiality, media freedom and institutional accountability are balanced in Nepal. For now, the Kathmandu District Police Range says it expects media houses to rely on confirmed, official information as the investigation into Sapkota proceeds, while the force maintains that the reports about its senior leadership deserve to be treated with caution until the facts are established.