Gunmen shoot Nepal publisher dead in southern town

Unidentified gunmen have shot dead a newpaper publisher in the latest attack on the media in Nepal.

Arun Singhaniya was shot at point blank range by four attackers on motorbikes in the southern town of Janakpur near the Indian border.

It is not cleared who attacked him. He published a popular newspaper and owned a radio station in the town.

Journalists say political instability in Nepal has led to an increase in intimidation and attacks on the press.

'Impunity'

Mr Singhaniya, 53, had been travelling home after celebrating the Hindu festival of Holi when he was attacked.

He sustained three gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital.

His murder is the latest in a series of attacks on journalists in the Himalayan nation, the BBC's Joanna Jolly in Kathmandu says.

In January 2009 a young female reporter, Uma Singh, who worked for Mr Singhaniya's radio station was hacked to death.

Last month the owner of Nepal's first cable television channel was shot dead in central Kathmandu.

The Federation of Nepali Journalists says press freedoms are deteriorating in Nepal.

"No politician has the political will to stop these incidents happening. Impunity is increasing in Nepal," federation president Dharmendra Jha told the BBC.

Several armed groups based in the Terai region, where Janakpur is located, have said they killed Mr Singhaniya.

Observers say these groups have a history of such claims and it is almost impossible to know who might have carried out the attack. Few such murders are resolved in Nepal.