Lawyer Khim Lal Devkota was arrested on 11 June by two men in plain clothes believed to be army personnel, outside his office in Bagbazar, Kathmandu. His whereabouts are now unknown, and there are fears for his safety.

The two men reportedly went into his office and spoke with him for a short while. At 9am, as he left his office to attend a Supreme Court hearing, they arrested him and took him away.

He apparently telephoned his family two days later, and told them in a weak and trembling voice that he was not allowed to say where he was being detained. He may have been tortured or ill-treated.

Khim Lal Devkota is Secretary General of a human rights organization called Gana Adhikar Sarokar Kendra (People's Rights Concern Movement). He sits on the central committee of the Alliance for Democracy, an organization working for democracy and human rights in Nepal.

It is believed that he may have been arrested on suspicion of being a member or supporter of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN)(Maoist).

Officers at the Hanuman Dhoka district police station denied that he had been arrested.

Khim Lal Devkota is currently detained in Central Jail, Kathmandu. His relatives were informed of his whereabouts in early July and have been allowed to visit him.

Khim Lal Devkota was arrested by security personnel in Kathmandu on 11 June, under the Terrorist and Destructive Activities (Control and Prevention) Act 2002. His whereabouts remained unknown for over three weeks.

A habeas corpus petition, lodged on his behalf, is pending in the Supreme Court. On 12 July, Khim Lal Devkota was presented in court and his statement was taken. On 22 July the Supreme Court scheduled 31 July for the final hearing of the petition.

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The Supreme Court issued an order for Khim Lal Devkota's release. It is unknown whether that ordered has been carried out.