KATHMANDU: Police conducted a late-night search of the Nakkhu residence of Jana Aastha weekly editor and publisher Kishor Shrestha on Wednesday, several hours after taking him into custody.

Family members said officers confiscated laptops, computers and mobile phones from the house during the operation. Shrestha had earlier been arrested near his home in Kusunti and taken to the Kathmandu District Police Range before police searched the residence and seized the electronic equipment.

Police are also reportedly preparing to search the Jana Aastha office in Thado Dhunga, Lalitpur. The reported move prompted journalists to gather at the media house in protest, arguing that law enforcement authorities cannot conduct unlawful raids on a media organization.

Media personnel from different news outlets assembled at the office, demanding protection of press freedom and journalists’ professional rights.

According to police, Shrestha, a former chairperson of Press Council Nepal, was arrested after investigators obtained court permission in a case related to an alleged breach of personal privacy.

The overnight search of his residence and the reported plan to inspect the newspaper’s office have triggered criticism from several journalists’ organizations.

Protests have intensified within the media community following Shrestha’s arrest, with multiple press organizations claiming that he was detained over published news reports.

Shrestha was taken into custody from his residence in Nakkhu, Lalitpur, on Wednesday evening and is being held at the Kathmandu District Police Range. After reports of his arrest emerged, Federation of Nepali Journalists President Nirmala Sharma, Press Chautari Nepal President Ganesh Pandey and other journalists reached the Kathmandu police office in Teku.

Journalists have maintained that any dispute over published content should be addressed through Press Council Nepal or other established legal mechanisms rather than by directly arresting an editor.

They have described the arrest and subsequent searches as an intrusion into press freedom and warned that such actions could create fear and pressure within the media sector. Journalists’ organizations have called on the government and security agencies to respect press freedom and follow due legal process.