Bishnu Pukar Shrestha was arrested by plainclothes security forces personnel at 5.00pm on 29 July at his rented apartment in Thapatali, Kathmandu. His whereabouts are now unknown and there are fears for his safety.

Security forces personnel went to Bishnu Pukar Shrestha's sister's house in Satungal, Kathmandu, at 10.30pm on 28 July and took her and her daughter away with them in a van. They reportedly asked her to show them the house where Bishnu Pukar Shrestha is currently living. They carried out a search of this house and took some papers away with them.

The security forces personnel returned Bishnu Pukar Shrestha's sister and her daughter to their home in Satungal the same day. They arrested Bishnu Pukar's wife at 3.00am on 29 July and returned her to her home at 9.00pm the same day. Meanwhile they had arrested Bishnu Pukar Shrestha at 5.00pm.

Earlier this year Bishnu Pukar Shrestha's name and photo were included in a list of wanted top Maoist leaders shown on an army television broadcast. A cash award was offered to anyone giving information leading to their arrest "dead or alive". After widespread protests, the authorities clarified that the award was offered to individuals who assist in arresting Maoist leaders.

Bishnu Pukar Shrestha himself has always categorically denied that he is a member of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) Maoist.

Bishnu Pukar Shrestha was arrested on 2 September 1999 and held incommunicado for ten months. For the majority of the time he was held within the Armed Forces Section of the Police Training Centre at Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, an unofficial place of detention. He was subjected to torture while in custody. Following international pressure from Amnesty International and others, he was finally released on 7 July 2000.