Riya Bhagwan 
Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad says some media organizations are exaggerating their crime reports.
Prasad urges the media not to be alarmist when reporting such cases.
He adds that, with the MIDA Decree now abolished, the coalition government has not victimized any media organization.
Prasad says they are not hiding crime figures, acknowledging that criminal activity has increased.
“So, if one, you know, crime happens in Benau or somewhere, theft or car theft or a robbery, then it’s a front page in some newspapers. Basically, trying to suggest or create an alarm that the crime rate is out of hand. That’s not the case.”
The overall crime rate has risen from 16,098 to 20,384 between 2023 and 2024.
However, Prasad notes that in 2020 it stood at 24,392.
He claims that when a lot of crime was happening in 2020, media organizations were not reporting it because they were afraid of upsetting the previous government.
