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 essential today than ever before.
Claim
Gitendra Babu Rai, who is on the run after embezzling cooperative funds, is arrested from Singapore.
Fact
No, GB Rai has not been arrested yet.
Viral videos and news reports claiming that absconding Chairman of Gorkha Media Group and operator of Galaxy TV Gitendra Babu (GB) Rai has been arrested in Singapore, are being widely shared on social media.
TikTok user @inside_nepal posted a video claiming that GB Rai has been arrested from Singapore. Text superimposed on the video reads, “GB Rai arrested 24 hours after Rabi Lamaichhane became the Home Minister.” A voice-over accompanying the video presented in the style of a news report says, “Here is some good news for hundreds of thousands of people who fell victims to the cooperatives. First of all, I would like to extend my congratulations to Rabi Lamichhane on his appointment as the Home Minister. I wish him all the best for his successful tenure. Many alleged that Rabi Lamichhane became the Home Minister to save GB Rai. But Kantipur daily today published the news that GB Rai has been arrested from Singapore just 12 hours after Rabi’s appointment. Many claim that Rabi already knew about Rai’s whereabouts. No matter what, it is a great achievement by Rabi Lamichhane.”
The video posted on March 7 has garnered 510 likes. 13 users have shared the video and 29 people have commented until the time of publishing this article.
The archived version of the first TikTok video can be seen here.
Another TikTok user @nayakuraonlinenews posted a 10-second video claiming that GB Rai has been arrested from Singapore. The video, also presented in the style of a news report, carried an image of GB Rai. Text superimposed on the video reads, “Special Report: Absconding GB Rai arrested in Singapore.” The video caption reads, “Breaking News: Absconding GB Rai arrested in Singapore.”
The video posted on March 7 has garnered 58 likes until the last count. The archived version of the TikTok video can be seen here.
Likewise, a news report, attributing a police source, published on Khabarhub online reported that GB Rai has been arrested from Singapore.
Newschecker found the claim to be misleading.
Fact Check /Verification
To check the authenticity of the claim made in the viral video, Newscheker conducted a search on Google by using relevant keywords and found a news article, dated March 7, published on My Republica online that the rumours about the arrest of GB Rai in Singapore has been making the rounds on social media.
The article quoted Nepal Police Chief Basanta Kunwar clarifying that Rai has not been arrested yet. According to him, Nepal police is looking for GB Rai through Interpol but has not been arrested.
Further, Newschecker reached out to Nepal Police Spokesperson Deputy Inspector General Bhim Prasad Dhakal who dismissed the news and social media posts claiming that GB Rai has been arrested as rumours.
Thus, our findings clearly show that GB Rai has not been arrested as claimed in the social media.
Conclusion
No, GB Rai, who has been absconding after embezzling cooperative funds, has not been arrested yet. The viral videos and the news claiming that he has been arrested in Singapore are baseless.
Result: False
Sources
My Republica online, March 7, 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 essential today than ever before.
