KATHMANDU: Nepal's former prime minister KP Sharma Oli and ex-home minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested over their alleged involvement in a deadly crackdown on protesters in September, police said. The detentions came a day after Prime Minister Balendra Shah and his cabinet were sworn in following the first elections since the 2025 uprising that toppled 74-year old Oli's government. "They were arrested this morning and the process will move forward according to the law," Kathmandu Valley police spokesman Om Adhikari said.
An inquiry commission into the violence found that at least 76 people were killed in the anti-corruption youth uprising on September 8 and 9. At least 20 young people were killed in a crackdown on the first day of protests, which began over a brief social media ban but tapped into longstanding fury over economic hardship. The government-backed inquiry commission recommended during a caretaker administration that Oli and other officials be prosecuted. Its report said it was "not established that there was an order to shoot", but added that "no effort was made to stop or control the firing and, due to their negligent conduct, even minors lost their lives".
The commission's report said victims in 48 out of 63 completed autopsies died of bullet wounds, and that most were struck in the chest or head.
More than 200 people were questioned, including Oli, and a 900-page report with an additional 8,000 pages of evidence was submitted.
"No one is above the law... This is not revenge against anyone, just the beginning of justice. I believe, now the country will take a new direction," new Home Minister Sudan Gurung, a key figure in the protests, posted on Instagram. — AFP
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