Online abuse targeting flood survivors has prompted Nepal’s authorities to launch a formal investigation, after families searching for missing relatives found their appeals for help met with hostile and demeaning comments on social media. Nepal’s Cyber Bureau has formed a ten member team to identify the users responsible, following a warning from Prime Minister Balendra Shah that the government would take a firm stance against such behaviour.
The bureau said it was compiling profiles of individuals who had posted insensitive comments about survivors of last month’s Bhotekoshi river floods, even though no formal complaints had been filed by those directly targeted. Officials said the scale and tone of the abuse online was enough to justify acting on the government’s own initiative.
How the Online Abuse Targeting Flood Survivors Emerged
The abuse surfaced after families of people who went missing in the Bhotekoshi floods on August 26 turned to social media to appeal for help locating their relatives. Rather than receiving support, many of these posts were met with a stream of mocking and belittling comments, which prompted others to draw the attention of government and security agencies to the pattern of harassment and call for intervention.
Prime Minister Shah addressed the issue directly in a Facebook post on Saturday, warning that those who mocked or harassed people suffering in the aftermath of the disaster would face consequences. He wrote that people who make unnecessary remarks, belittle those in pain or seek to cause further suffering at such a sensitive time are acting criminally, and said the government would show no leniency toward them.
Nepal’s Cyber Bureau Launches Its Investigation
Nepal’s Cyber Bureau began its investigation shortly after the prime minister’s post. Superintendent of Police Dilip Kumar Giri, the bureau’s spokesperson, said officers were reviewing the social media profiles of users who had posted abusive comments and working to identify their addresses and telephone numbers. He said such behaviour, which causes further distress to flood survivors, must be discouraged and that those responsible would face action.
The abuse has continued despite the warnings. A video posted on Sunday by a Facebook page called Leader Nepal showed a woman holding a young child and appealing for help locating her husband and other relatives, while also urging the government to ensure a secure future for herself and her two children. The video drew a wave of comments that mocked and insulted the woman rather than offering support.
Legal Consequences Under the Electronic Transactions Act
Nepali law already provides a legal framework for prosecuting certain forms of online abuse. Section 47 of the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008, prohibits the publication or display of electronic material that promotes hatred or hostility, disrupts relations between ethnic or religious communities, or involves harassment, humiliation or other indecent conduct. Those found guilty under the provision can be fined up to 100,000 rupees, sentenced to as much as five years in prison, or face both penalties, with repeat offenders subject to harsher punishment.
Giri said the bureau could proceed with an investigation even without a formal complaint from those targeted, provided officers gathered sufficient evidence. He said police can collect evidence, investigate such comments and move forward with legal action even when nobody has filed a complaint, underscoring the government’s willingness to pursue cases proactively.
A Wider Pattern of Online Hostility
Sociologist Meena Poudel said the hostility directed at flood survivors reflected a broader tendency among some supporters of those in power to treat criticism, or even simple appeals for help, as a form of disloyalty. She said there is a tendency among people close to power to look down on and attack others, particularly women, Madhesi people and those from remote areas who are already in difficult circumstances, adding that such individuals often develop a sense of entitlement to act with impunity.
The Cyber Bureau has already taken concrete action against at least one individual. Birendra Madai, from Baitadi, was arrested in Kathmandu on Saturday after posting comments on social media about the ethnic identity of people affected by the floods, comments the bureau said could inflame ethnic tensions. The arrest signals that authorities intend to enforce the law beyond issuing warnings, as Nepal continues to grapple with both the physical aftermath of the Bhotekoshi disaster and the online hostility that has followed in its wake.
Published in SouthAsianDesk, September 9th, 2026
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