Held in Nepal for 'carrying printouts of USD notes', Bengal photographer waits for relief
Kolkata(PTI): A trip to Nepal turned into a nightmare for a photographer from West Bengal as he ended up in prison for allegedly carrying jpeg image printouts of USD 100 notes, which he would have "needed there for shooting a short film".
Alone and helpless in Nepal, Durlav Roy Chowdhury (24), a resident of Salkia in West Bengal's Howrah district, had been waiting for assistance from India since November.
Speaking to PTI over phone from ward number 2 of Jhapa Karagaar in Nepal, Roy Chowdhury said that court hearing of his case is scheduled on May 25, and he was hoping to get reprieve as "I have not done anything illegal".
Eshor Raj Poudel, the consul general of Nepal in Kolkata, when approached by PTI, said he had no information about the case.
"I will explore this and talk to the authorities and the district magistrate of Jhapa. As this is a legal matter, we need to see the evidence. But I can give assurance that all support would be rendered to the family of the man under trial, Poudel stated.
The photographer, who identifies himself as a National Geographic contributor on his Linkedin page, claimed that he was being denied basic facilities in the jail.
He also said that he was subjected to "torture" for 20 days since his arrest on November 24 before being produced before a court which then sent him to judicial custody.
"I started my journey last November. At every checkpoint, I had showed security personnel the printouts of the USD bills that I had with me for the shoot. They allowed me to get through. At the Chandragadi Airport, however, authorities sent me to an office and I was subsequently detained," he maintained.
Roy Chowdhury said he was carrying around 230 pieces of prop USD notes, which, "in no way, matched with actual currency when forensic tests were conducted", the report of which he shared with PTI.
"I had planned to throw them in the air and shoot a sequence for my film 'Money Isn't Everything'. I had never thought that I would be charged with 'Mudra Sambandhi Kasoor' (offence related to currency) for it in Nepal, he said.
"I have been treated like an animal by Nepalese Police. They didn't allow me to call my mother in India for weeks or share my ordeal with anyone else. For the first few weeks, I was not given my inhaler. My health deteriorated and only then they showed mercy," he said.
The 24-year-old also rued that language has been a major barrier.
"I don't know Nepalese and none of the jail officials speak English. I gave them all details and documents, but they didn't understand. They made me sign papers that I couldn't read or understand," Roy Chowdhury, who lost his father in 2015, said.
He claimed that the Indian Embassy in Nepal has been of little help to him.
"I keep calling the Indian Embassy here every day but the officials there maintain they won't be able to do much for me. The only thing they helped me with is a lawyer," the photographer stated.
His mother, Tripti Roy Chowdhury, a cancer patient, said she had been running from pillar to post to secure freedom for his son over the past few months.
She said that she came to know about her son's imprisonment only in January.
"I spent days trying to locate him. In January, when I came to know of his ordeal, I was shocked," the 63-year-old woman, who visited her son in March, said.
She said that her attempts to reach out to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee yielded no result thus far.
Roy Chowdhury's mother, who is also in Nepal at present for the court hearing, said she would appeal to the judge for the release of her son, "who is suffering in jail for no valid reason".
"I also want plead to the chief minister for help. I'm a cancer patient and have no one to turn to other than my son. I believe the CM will sympathise with my situation," she added.
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Here's how netizens, media outlets projected Ashwini Kumar's bomb threat as 'Lashkar-e-Jihadi'
Mumbai: Mumbai was thrown into panic late on Thursday night when police received a WhatsApp message warning of a large-scale terror attack during the Ganesh festival. The message, written in the name of a jihadi group called “Lashkar-e-Jihadi,” claimed that 14 Pakistani terrorists had entered Mumbai with 400 kilograms of RDX loaded in 34 vehicles.
It warned of blasts that could kill as many as one crore people. Authorities immediately declared a high alert, and the case was handed over to the Crime Branch while the Anti-Terrorism Squad and other security agencies were put on standby.
Within hours, the threat made national headlines. Television channels and online portals reported the possibility of a terror strike, repeatedly linking the message to Pakistan-based groups.
The incident was projected as yet another attempt to destabilize Mumbai, and the supposed involvement of a jihadi outfit quickly gained traction across the media. However, a swift investigation by Mumbai Police traced the origin of the message to a very different source.
By Saturday, police had tracked down and arrested Ashwin Kumar Supra, a 50-year-old astrologer and Vastu consultant living in Sector 79 of Noida. Originally from Patna, Kumar admitted during interrogation that he had sent the message using the name of his former friend Firoz. In 2023, Firoz had lodged a fraud case against him at Phulwari Sharif police station in Patna, leading to Kumar’s three-month imprisonment. Seeking revenge, Kumar attempted to frame Firoz by posing as a jihadi terrorist. Police recovered his mobile phone, SIM cards, and other digital devices used in the hoax.
When the threat first came to light, social media was flooded with heated reactions. Journalist @Manju_IBNews wrote, “Another election around the corner!” while user @kv_mcu posted an aggressive comment demanding to “ban Islam and burn the Quran,” calling for mass deportations and tying the incident to culture and religion. In response, @RIMMS51979 countered sharply, saying, “Caller Name is Ashvini kumar what will you burn now.” Another user, @Valkyrie00777, questioned the credibility of the threat, pointing to contradictions in the claim that 14 terrorists had entered India with 34 bombs and 400 kilograms of RDX. Meanwhile, @Liberal51601607 remarked, “Terrorists have no religion.. Anyone..?”
Fact-checkers also weighed in. @zoo_bear (Mohammed Zubair) accused NDTV of omitting crucial context, posting: “Adani's TV hasn't mentioned that the accused Ashwini Kumar sent the bomb threat message to Mumbai police in the name of his friend Firoz to frame him.” The fact-check website Aazad Fact Check (@AazadFactCheck) published a detailed rebuttal, saying the story had quickly evolved into a propaganda tool. It noted that the supposed intelligence about “human bombs in vehicles” was technically flawed and described the entire sequence as “a pure example of Indian narrative building before a false flag operation.”
Adani's TV hasn't mentioned that the accused Ashwini Kumar sent the bomb threat message to Mumbai police in the name of his friend Firoz to frame him. https://t.co/17nZxYOrql
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) September 6, 2025
After Ashwini Kumar’s arrest, the tone of the online conversation shifted sharply. Activist @ShabnamHashmi posted, “Ashwini Kumar 50 Year Old Astrologer from Noida has been arrested for sending these threats in the name of a Muslim. This is how Sangh sleeper cells are spreading hatred. Stop the Hate factory! Vote Out the Vote Chori Gang.” Journalist @indscribe (Shams Ur Rehman Alavi) observed that newspapers splashed the initial threat on front pages but buried the arrest details inside. “When the guy gets caught, the same newspapers don't publish his photo, relegate it to page 14 or reduce it to a single column… Interest gone after ‘name’ found,” he wrote.
Ashwini Kumar 50 Year Old Astrologer from Noida has been arrested for sending these threats in the name of a Muslim. This is how Sangh sleeper cells are spreading hatred
— Shabnam Hashmi (@ShabnamHashmi) September 6, 2025
Stop the Hate factory !
Vote Out the Vote Chori Gang pic.twitter.com/IzpLjWVJgu
Other users highlighted systemic and political angles. @shfique13 argued that there are now “two laws” in the country—one protecting those aligned with the government and another used to suppress truth-tellers. @SoodRajive claimed the episode was staged, alleging Kumar had been paid to frame a minority and calling it “a staged toolkit drama.” User @hussain2577 wrote sarcastically, “Such an innocent n bright person. Plzz grant him bail, Garland him, Give him BJP membership form.” Another account, @Sangliyana, remarked, “Risking his life just to frame a Muslim boy. This is what 11 years corrupting mind.” Finally, @rsbisht__ argued that Kumar’s only aim was to trap Firoz, linking it to what he described as rising hatred against Muslims in Uttar Pradesh under the Modi and Yogi administrations.
