Police in Nepal have released prominent journalist, Kanak Mani Dixit, after detaining him for a few hours.
Plain clothes policemen took Mr Dixit into custody from his house in the capital, Kathmandu, on Monday evening.
The authorities gave no reasons for his arrest, and he was freed around midnight on Monday after nearly five hours of detention.
Speaking after his release, Mr Dixit told the BBC that police had inquired about his recent visit to India.
He said they wanted to know whether or not he had tried to meet Nepalese Maoist leaders in India.
Mr Dixit said he told them that he did not have any such meetings.
'Gyanendra's antipathy'
He said that he had returned to Kathmandu on Saturday after taking part in a series of seminars in Delhi and Calcutta.
Mr Dixit, editor of the Nepal-based Himal magazine, said police treated him well while in detention.
Police had earlier detained the former Nepalese ambassador to India, Lokraj Baral, on his return from Delhi. But he too was released later.
In an open letter posted on the internet in February, Mr Dixit wrote: "King Gyanendra's antipathy towards the political parties is well known and has been often-expressed.
"But by sidelining them completely and planning to rule as well as reign, the king has removed a buffer between himself and the rough and tumble of politics.
"To that extent, he has taken a great risk and put the institution of monarchy in the line of fire."
Meanwhile human rights campaigners say that political activists rounded up after the royal coup are not being given adequate medical care.
The programme officer of the Human Rights Organisation of Nepal, Ishwor Koirala, told the AFP news agency that at least 450 people had been detained since the king sacked the government and assumed absolute power.
The authorities have not said how many people are in detention, but on Friday they officially announced that at least five political leaders, including two former prime ministers, were having their periods of house arrest extended.
"The health condition of most of the political detainees is gradually deteriorating as they have not been able to see proper doctors and get medicines," Mr Koirala said.
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