Radio Nepal
January 30, 2003, in Jaluki, Nepal

Rokka Magar, a newsreader for the Kham Magar­language service of Radio Nepal, was abducted by Maoist rebels on August 1, 2002, while traveling by bus to the town of Surkhet, where he worked. Rebels intercepted the bus near Jaluki, a Maoist-controlled village near the borders of Western Rolpa and Pyuthan districts, and kidnapped several passengers, including Rokka Magar and a representative from the British charity Gurkha Welfare Trust.

It was not clear why the Maoists targeted certain passengers, but rebels generally view journalists working for state-run Radio Nepal as government agents.

In October 2004, rebels informed Rokka Magar's wife, Dil Kumari, that he had been taken to Khawang, a forested area between Rukum and Rolpa in midwestern Nepal, and killed in January 2003 on suspicion of spying for the government, according to local news reports.

The news was first reported in the Nepalese media in March 2005. Rokka Magar had been on CPJ's missing list, but his case was reclassified based on the new reports. The journalist's body has not been found.

Medium:Radio
Job:Broadcast Reporter
Gender:Male
Local or Foreign:Local
Freelance:No
Type of Death:Murder
Suspected Source of Fire:Political Group
Impunity:Yes
Taken Captive:Yes
Tortured:No
Threatened:No

 

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