Suspiciously parked vehicles blocked the main gates of three major media organisations in Kathmandu on Monday morning, disrupting newsroom operations for several hours and triggering concerns that the coordinated act was intended to intimidate independent journalism.

The gates of Onlinekhabar atNew Baneshwar, Himalaya Television at Mid-Baneshwar and Kantipur Media Group at Tinkune were obstructed after vehicles were deliberately parked in front of their entrances before the drivers fled, according to eyewitnesses and media officials.

At Kantipur, security guard Ramesh Thuyaju said a man wearing a face mask and dark sunglasses arrived at around 7am and insisted on leaving a car directly in front of the main gate despite being told that parking there was prohibited.

"He said he had come to meet an elder brother inside the office. I asked him to park elsewhere because he could not leave the vehicle there. He ignored my request, parked the car anyway and ran away,” said Thuyaju.

According to Thuyaju, the man appeared to be talking to someone on the phone before leaving. "When I saw him suddenly running towards the main road, I followed him. But I had to return because I could not leave the gate unattended," he added.

The vehicle left outside Kantipur, bearing registration number Ba Province 01 034 Cha 8480, was later found to be used by Ravi Jaiswal, a businessman from ward 4 of Garuda Municipality in Rautahat district. He is a member of the Central Research and Documentation Department of the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).

He was nominated in the department with the entry of Prime Minister Balendra Shah in the RSP.

Jaiswal acknowledged that the vehicle belonged to him but claimed someone else had taken it. "That is my vehicle. My friend borrowed it yesterday," he told Kantipur. "His phone is switched off. I cannot come to collect the vehicle immediately."

Jaiswal runs machinery businesses in Chandranigahapur and Garuda. He contested the 2022 Madhesh Provincial Assembly election as an independent candidate but was defeated despite securing a notable number of votes. His father, Kanthamani Jaiswal, was elected mayor of Garuda Municipality on a CPN-UML ticket in the 2022 local elections.

The other vehicles involved bore registration numbers Ba 12 Cha 8545, parked outside Onlinekhabar, and Ba 2 Cha 1255, left outside Himalaya Television.

The obstruction prevented journalists and other staff from moving vehicles in and out of the premises for around five hours.

Ram Krishna Bhandari, news coordinator at Kantipur Television, said reporters assigned to cover events across the city were unable to leave the newsroom because vehicles carrying camera equipment remained trapped inside.

"Our journalists could not go out for reporting assignments. Even taking motorcycles out became difficult because the gate was completely blocked,” said Bhandari. He added that employees became increasingly anxious as nobody knew who had left the vehicles or why they had been parked there. Kantipur eventually hired a crane to remove the obstructing vehicle at around 12:30 pm after waiting for hours.

Umesh Chauhan, group editor of Himalaya Television and Onlinekhabar, called for a thorough investigation, stating the coordinated nature of the incident suggested an attempt to pressure news organisations.

"It is important to find out who did this, but the intention also appears obvious," said Chauhan. "The message seems to be that if the media continue raising questions, anything could happen." He also questioned why police took hours to respond despite traffic being obstructed on a busy public road.

He said Ganesh Nepali's self-immolation on July 9 should not be viewed merely as an issue of traffic rule enforcement. "Citizens must abide by the law, but the state also has a duty to give hope and reassurance to those in vulnerable circumstances," he said. "The media have been asking why the state failed to give hope to young people like Prem Acharya [in 2023] and Ganesh Nepali [last Friday]. Where did it go wrong? The state should respond to the questions raised by the media and the public. The state should be responsive, not merely reactive."

Senior Superintendent of Police Suresh Kafle, chief of the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, said some individuals had contacted police claiming their drivers had taken the vehicles without their knowledge. "We are searching for everyone involved and will take action according to the law," he said.

Assistant Inspector General of Police Sushil Singh Rathour, chief of the Kathmandu Valley Police Office in Ranipokhari, said police had instructed traffic authorities to tow all the vehicles from outside the media houses.

"The vehicles are being brought to the traffic police office," said Rathour. "They will face penalties for unauthorised parking, while discussions are continuing on whether additional legal action is warranted."

The suspicious act to intimidate the media sector has been condemned by various organisations. The Federation of Nepali Journalists condemned the incident, describing it as both mysterious and alarming. In a statement issued by General Secretary Ram Prasad Dahal, the federation said vehicles had been deliberately parked outside the three media houses, obstructing journalists' movement and creating fear among media workers. It demanded an immediate investigation, legal action against those responsible and stronger security for journalists and media institutions.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), amid allegations that a vehicle used to block access to the Kantipur Publications office belonged to one of its leaders, said on Monday that it would not accept any actions, under any pretext, that undermine freedom of information and communication, create an atmosphere of fear for media organisations, or seek to curtail the role of the press as the fourth estate.

In a statement issued by General Secretary Bipin Kumar Acharya, the party said such "suspicious and mysterious" activities, apparently intended to intimidate media organisations and journalists or place them under psychological pressure, amounted to a blatant violation of democratic norms and values.

"As a democratic and responsible political party that believes in the rule of law, the Rastriya Swatantra Party has always stood firmly in support of full press freedom, citizens' fundamental right to be informed, and independent journalism," the statement said.

The party said free and fearless journalism is the lifeblood of democracy and reiterated its commitment to protecting press freedom. It also condemned this and any other attempts to intimidate the media. However, in its statement, the RSP stopped short of mentioning the vehicle parked outside KMG's gate, which was found to belong to its member, Jaiswal.