Prime Minister Balen Urged Home Minister Sudan Gurung To Open Madan Bhandari Case? No, Viral Video is Doctored

A video carrying a purported screen-grab of a Facebook post of Prime Minister Balendra Shah urging Home Minister Sudan Gurung to open the file of late CPN-UML leader Madan Bhandari is going viral on TikTok.

Charismatic General Secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist–Leninist (CPN-UML), Madan Bhandari, died in a car accident along with his party colleague Jivraj Ashrit on May 16, 1993. Their jeep plunged into the Trishuli River at Dasdhunga, Chitwan. Though an investigation committee formed by the then government concluded that Bhandari died in an accident due to over speed and the driver’s negligence, the CPN-UML concluded that the Dasdhunga incident was a conspiracy rather than an accident.

Against this backdrop, TikTok user posted a video carrying a purported screenshot of a Facebook post by Prime Minister Balendra Shah. The purported post by Balendra Shah reads, “People’s multiparty democracy could not get justice. Dear Sudan Gurung, Home Ministry, Singha Durbar, Kathmandu. There could be thousands of files that have not been opened yet but I felt that the case of Madan Bhandari is of utmost importance. The person who spoke strongly for the people’s voice by trampling on slavery that voice should not be allowed to be suppressed. That’s why I urge you to reopen the file of Madan Bhandari at the earliest. Balendra Shah, Prime Minister of Nepal Government.”  The alleged screenshot of the post also carries a photo of Home Minister Sudan Gurung.

The video posted on July 2 has garnered 1746 likes, 18 users have shared it and 42 people have commented until the last count.

Fact Check /Verification

We began our investigation by checking the verified Facebook page of Balen that resembled the profile picture carried in the purported Facebook post of Balendra Shah. However, we did not find any post even distantly matching the post carried in the viral video.  

We then conducted an extensive search for news regarding Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s request to Home Minister Sudan Gurung to reopen the Dasdhunga incident. However, we did not find any credible report to support the claim.

Rather, we found a news dated, June 9, 2026, posted on Nepal News online about Home Minister Sudan Gurung’s decision to open high-profile old cases including the 2001 royal palace massacre. Gurung made the decisions following his reappointment on June 9 after the government formed investigation committee cleared him.  

Thus, our investigation clearly showed that Prime Minister Balendra Shah has not requested Home Minister Sudan Gurung to reopen the Dashdhunga incident in which CPN-UML leader Madan Bhandari died.

Conclusion

No, Prime Minister Balendra Shah has not posted any status requesting Home Minister Gurung to reopen the Dashdhunga incident. The purported Facebook post of Prime Minister Balendra Shah is made up, and thus is misleading.

Sources
Balen Official/Facebook
Nepalnews June 9, 2026