Kathmandu, October 25
Khadgendra Sunar, a lawmaker from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), has submitted a written denial to the party regarding a controversial audio conversation allegedly involving him and a woman.
Sunar submitted the written denial to the party’s Disciplinary Commission concerning the conversation reportedly between him and the woman.
Before the investigation committee formed by the commission, Sunar claimed that the voice in the audio was not his.
Advocate Harichandra Bhattarai, deputy head of the Disciplinary Commission and coordinator of the investigation committee, confirmed that Sunar had submitted a written denial.
“He has denied the allegations. He has said that the voice is not his. The written statement broadly reflects what he has already posted on social media,” Bhattarai told Onlinekhabar.
Following Sunar’s denial, the committee has begun looking for independent evidence.
After the controversial audio became public, Sunar had disputed its authenticity, claiming it was generated using artificial intelligence (AI). He has argued that he has been repeatedly targeted since raising the issue of corruption in the police.
Claiming that an audio recording involving a fictional woman had been made public, Sunar wrote on social media, “All the allegations made public are false. They are propaganda created using technologies such as AI.”
The investigation committee formed by the party has obtained the audio recording from Jan Aastha, the magazine that broadcast it, before it was edited. The committee has also written to News 24 requesting the audio of an interview broadcast as being with the woman described as the victim.
The committee said Sunar’s written denial and the views expressed in the woman’s interview had made the investigation more complicated.
“We will internally verify the audio obtained from Jan Aastha. If we encounter any complications, we will write to the relevant authorities for a technical examination,” said investigation committee coordinator Bhattarai. “We will question him (Sunar) after completing the technical examination on our part. The timeline will depend on how long the technical examination takes. We have made substantial progress in other aspects. We cannot speed up the technical examination. Otherwise, we will complete the work soon.”
Immediately after the audio became public, the RSP expressed concern and instructed its Disciplinary Commission to conduct an internal investigation into Sunar.
Until the investigation reaches a conclusion, Sunar has been instructed not to attend formal events in his capacity as a public office-holder.
