Reporters Club chairman Rishi Dhamala, who was detained under Arms and Ammunition Act for over two months, was released from Dillibazaar prison on Sunday.

The Kathmandu District Administration Office (KDAO) released him as per the Patan Appellate Court’s ruling on Friday. However, he will have to appear before the KDAO on a regular basis pending final verdict on the case.

Talking to fellow journalists on his release, Dhamala said the court had finally given him justice. He also said he “will fight for the release of two other illegally detained journalists (co-accused Ram Subhak Mahato and Birendra Kumar Mahato)”.

Representatives of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) including its president Dharmendra Jha and others welcomed him as he came out of Dillibazaar prison.

Dhamala was taken into custody on February 4 for his alleged link with underground extremist outfit Ranabir Sena that had claimed responsibility for a number of bomb explosions in Kathmandu and Terai districts. He has been accused of being involved in the group’s operation including extortion and bomb blasts.

Dhamala was detained on the basis of statement given in police custody by the two co-accused, Ram Subhak and Birendra Kumar. Few days after his arrest, police had released an audio tape in which Dhamala was heard in telephone conversation with a Ranabir Sena operative, complying with the group’s extortion plan in Kathmandu. However, Dhamala has dismissed the allegation, insisting that the audio was nothing but a concoction of the police to justify his “illegal detention”. nepalnews.com Apr 12 09