POLICE PRESENT THREE PERSONS INVOLVED IN JOURNALIST MURDER

FURTHER DETAILS OF BREAK MURDER OF JHAPA JOURNALIST
Kathmandu, 11 April: Yubaraj Giri, a hotelier, is the main suspect in the murder of journalist Yadav Paudel, police said.
Somraj Dhakal, wife Manju, owners a hotel in Birtamod were involved in the
murder, police said, are conspirators in the murder, police said.
Manju said Giri pushed Paudel from atop the hotel.
Paudel’s bruised body was found at a bus park in the town last Wednesday.

Paudel worked with a district newspaper and was stringer of Avenues Television
and Rajdhani daily newspaper published from Kathmandu.
He left behind a mother, wife, daughter and son.
A team is journalists investigating the murder is meeting Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai Wednesday to pursue its finding after an on-the-spot study
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TIA OFFICIAL CHARGED

Kathmandu, 11 April: TIA official Purna Bahadur Basnet was charged by CIAA
Tuesday for taking a Rs.100,000 bribe from Nepali woman Dilchin Dolma
Sherpa last year to facilitate her travel to USA.
The woman lodged a complaint against Basnet who is in custody.
A charge was filed against the airport official Tuesday.
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MADHYAPUR YOUTH ASSOCIATION LIFTS B DIVISION NATIONAL
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

Kathmandu, 11 April: Madhayapur Youth Association Tuesday lifted the B Division National League Championship in the capital by a solitary goal scored by Thakur Shrestha .
The Association beat Shankata.
The winner lifted a Rs.300,000 prize money.
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NATIONAL HYDROPOWER CO. GETS AWAY SCOT FREE
Kathmandu, 11 April: National Hydropower Company has failed to heed the directive of the capital market regulator to hold its annual general meeting by mid-April, The Himalayan Times reports.

“In the recent meeting held by the company’s board, the promoters have expressed their interest to wait till the end of the current fiscal year so that they can hold the AGM of fiscal years 2009-10 and 2010-11 together,” said a board director of the company Prakash Rajoria.

Public shareholders of National Hydropower had formally requested Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) to fix the date for its annual general meeting as the company had failed to hold one on its own accord, challenging the capital market regulator and fooling investors.

In response, Sebon had directed the company to hold its AGM for fiscal year 2009-10 within mid-April. The deadline expires on Thursday and the company’s board is not in the mood to hold the AGM anytime soon.

“Yesterday, we again handed a formal request

to Sebon — the capital market regulator — to fix the AGM date and order the company in writing to hold the AGM within the next 21 days — that is — by May 1, so that the company’s promoters will be forced to hold the annual meeting,” informed Rajoria who is one of the two public directors of the hydropower company’s board from among the minority shareholders.

“We have even demanded Sebon to take action against the non-compliant chairman, managing director, and two directors Laxmi Bahadur Shrestha and Mohan Bahadur Basnet,” he added.

“The deadline will be over in one day but the company has yet to announce its AGM so we will seek clarification from the company and take necessary action,” said spokesperson for Sebon Niraj Giri.

Sebon has the authority to order the company to hold its AGM if the company delays it. Moreover, the regulator can also arrange the company’s AGM itself if the executive board does not comply despite repeated orders and can also audit the company’s balance sheet.

According to regulation, a listed company has to hold its AGM within six months of the end of a fiscal year. But National Hydropower has not held its AGM since the last three years keeping retail investors in the dark about the financial status of the company and the capital market regulator is not taking any action against it, he said, questioning how the regulator could think of boosting investor confidence in such a manner.

“The company has collected money from a large number of investors and it is shying away from its responsibility to disclose the financial status of the company after its financial interests have been fulfilled,” pointed out Rajoria.
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CASTE DISCRIMINATION HIGHEST IN CENTRAL REGION


Kathmandu, 11 April : A sub-committee of the Committee on Women, Children and Social Welfare at the Legislature-Parliament Tuesday concluded the continued prevalence of caste-based discrimination in the Central Development Region, The Rising Nepal reports.
The sub-committee was assigned to study caste-based discrimination and the problem of untouchability and to suggest solutions.
The panel took a week-long tour of several districts, monitored the situation against the implementation of the Act Prohibiting Untouchability and Caste Discrimination-2068 and confirmed the presence of the social maladies in several districts, including Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sindhuli, Makawanpur, Sarlahi, Parsa, and Rautahut of the central and some other places of the eastern regions.

Constituent Assembly members Govinda Nepali and Lila Somai said, after the monitoring, that rural areas witnessed caste discrimination and untouchability more often than the urban areas. They suggested the state take measures to improve the situation.
Sub-committee coordinator Binod Pahadi said instead of providing security to Mushahars of Siraha, preparations were being made to shift their settlement elsewhere.
"This is a matter of concern," Pahadi said. "The district administration offices have to act responsibly in their duties. They should provide security to lawmakers during their visits."
Pahadi demanded that the Ministry of Home should explain the matter.
Other sub-committee members Lila Subba, Amilal Jhangad, Asha Kumari Sardar, Shila Katila and Bimala Nepali, among others, said that the society and culture still discouraged inter-caste marriages despite the incentives from the government to encourage such marriages and relate laws.
They said that the culture of socially boycotting dalits and non-dalits tying their nuptial knots was bad.
They expressed concern that such a culture had been developing of late and asked the government to seriously handle the problem.
The panel decided to call the related high officials from Home Affairs Ministry to its next meeting to learn about the incident. It also decided to inquire the forest minister about the reason for shifting the Musahar settlement in Siraha.

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