Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
Claim
KMC Mayor Balendra Shah went to Pokhara to meet RSP Chairman Rabi Lamichhane.
Fact
The viral claim is misleading.
A video claiming that Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City Balendra Shah ‘Balen’ went to Pokhara to meet Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chairman Rabi Lamichhane is going viral on TikTok. The video goes on to claim that Balen went inside the jail and forged a deal with Rabi Lamichhane.
Former Home Minister and RSP Chairman Lamichhane was apprehended by a Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) team from the RSP’s central office in Banasthali, Kathmandu on October 18, and transported to Pokhara for investigation. He was arrested for his alleged involvement in cooperatives fraud and organised crime. A parliamentary special parliamentary committee alleged that he, as the managing director of the now-defunct Gorkha Media Network, was involved in misappropriating funds from multiple cooperatives.
Against this backdrop, TikTok user @subedisun9999 posted a video showing a collage of several images showing Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah and RSP Chairman Rabi Lamichhane. Text superimposed on the video reads, “Balen went to Pokhara to meet Rabi Lamichhane and forged a deal. Balen suddenly reached Pokhara with his team. Balen reached the jail and forged a deal with Rabi. Rabi seems assured and hats off to Balen. Jaya Ghanti.” People can also be heard chanting “Balen! Balen!… ” in the viral video.
The video posted on November 22 has garnered 11.1k likes, 154 users have shared it and 505 people have commented until the time of publishing this article.
Newschecker found the claim to be misleading.
Fact Check /Verification
To check the veracity of the claim, Newschecker took a keyframe from the viral video and ran a reverse search on Google. The search led us to a video, dated November 19, 2024, posted on the YouTube Channel named Live Nepal News. The thumbnail image of the video exactly matched the image carried in the viral video.
On checking the entire video, we found that it reported about the latest news and happenings in Nepal. However, we noticed glaring discrepancies in the images and footage carried in the video. The video showed unrelated images and videos while none of the news items matched the thumbnail.
We checked the other videos posted on the YouTube channel and found that the YouTube channel is known for posting exaggerated and sensational videos.
Further, we conducted a search on Google to check if Mayor Balen went to meet Rabi Lamichhane in custody in Pokhara. But we didn’t find any report about the claim.
We, then, reached out to KMC Mayor Balendra Shah and asked if Balen Shah went to Pokhara to meet Rabi Lamichhane, who clarified to us on WhatsApp that the claim is not true.
Thus, our findings clearly show that the claim made in the viral video is exaggerated and misleading.
Conclusion
No, Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah didn’t go to Pokhara to meet Rabi Lamichhane , who is being held in custody for investigation into his alleged involvement in misappropriation of cooperative funds.
Result: False
Sources
Live Nepali News /YouTube , Nov 19, 2024
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Sanjeeb Phuyal is the Nepali Editor of Newschecker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He brings over a decade of experience writing and editing news. In his previous stint, he worked as online editor for The Kathmandu Post. With the growth of social media platforms—and the ever-growing competition amongst media outlets to churn out breaking news, he feels that fact-checking every piece of information has become more essential today than ever before.
