Nepal’s former PM Oli arrested over Gen Z protest crackdown last year

Nepal’s former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli was arrested on Saturday, a day after the newly formed government led by Balendra Shah moved to implement the findings of a probe commission into last year’s Gen Z protests that shook the country.

Oli, who also chairs the Communist Party of Nepal–Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), was detained early Saturday from the Gundu area of Bhaktapur district, about 12 km east of Kathmandu, police said.

Former home minister and Nepali Congress leader Ramesh Lekhak was also arrested from his residence in Katunje of Suryabinayak Municipality in Bhaktapur district, authorities added.

Both leaders face allegations linked to the suppression of the Gen Z protest on September 8 and 9 last year, during which 76 people were killed, including around two dozen youths.

The probe commission formed to investigate the events recommended criminal proceedings against Oli, Lekhak and others over their alleged roles in the crackdown. In its first cabinet meeting on Friday, the newly formed government under Shah decided to immediately implement the commission’s recommendations.

"Nobody is above the law," home minister Sudhan Gurung wrote in a social media post following the arrests. "We have taken under control former Prime Minister KP Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak. This is not a revenge against anybody, just the beginning of justice. I believe that now the country will take a new direction."

Police said both Oli and Lekhak are being held at the Kathmandu District Police Circle in Bhadrakali. The commission has recommended a prison term ranging from three to ten years for the offences.

A senior officer at the Kathmandu District Police Circle told PTI that the two leaders will be produced before the Kathmandu District Court on Sunday, as Saturday is a holiday, after which the investigation process will formally begin.

Oli was taken to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital for a medical examination soon after being detained, police said, describing the step as part of standard legal procedure.

Meanwhile, the CPN-UML has convened an emergency meeting of its secretariat at the party’s central office in Lalitpur to discuss the developments.

With PTI inputs