Nepal Police has said it called journalists to its office for questioning following concerns raised by the Prime Minister’s Office over reports and messages critical of the police force.

On Friday afternoon, plainclothes police officers detained Bishwamani Subedi of Nepal Press, Shobharaj Baral, editor of Motive News, and Dhiraj Basnet, editor-in-chief of DNA Khabar. They also spent nearly three hours trying to take journalist Navaraj Mainali into custody from the office of Naya Patrika daily.

The police issued a clarification late on Friday night after the action drew widespread criticism.

In a statement posted at 1:40am on Saturday in the Nepal Police’s official WhatsApp group for sharing information with journalists, police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle said the Cyber Bureau had called in several media workers to seek basic information about the accuracy, factual basis and legal grounds of reports and messages circulating about the police.

The statement said the police had acted in response to concerns raised by the Prime Minister’s Office that continued circulation of what it described as false reports and messages on social media and in the media could damage public perceptions of the force’s professionalism, public trust in the police, relations between the government and the police organisation, and its investigations.

“The Nepal Police Cyber Bureau called some media workers to its office with the proper intent of carrying out its duties, seeking basic information about the truth, factual accuracy and legal basis of such publicity,” the statement said. “This should help create conditions in which everyone can contribute to building a safe society.”

The Prime Minister’s Office, however, has denied any involvement in the detention of the journalists, saying neither the prime minister nor his secretariat or office had prior knowledge of the incident.

In a statement issued soon after news of the detentions emerged, Dipa Dahal, communications adviser to Prime Minister Balendra Shah, said the prime minister had instructed the authorities to release the journalists immediately and refrain from entering newsrooms or taking any action against journalists there as soon as he learnt of the incident.

“The prime minister, his secretariat and the Prime Minister’s Office had no involvement in the detention of the journalists and had no prior knowledge of the incident,” Dahal said.

The police action has also drawn criticism from the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party, which has opposed the move.

Police, meanwhile, said they remained supportive of the press. Kafle’s statement said the force had always maintained a positive attitude towards the media, which it described as the fourth pillar of the state, and remained committed to press freedom and the safety of journalists.