Nepal arrests former prime minister and others related to Gen Z protest deaths News
By हिमाल सुवेदी - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
Nepal arrests former prime minister and others related to Gen Z protest deaths

Nepal police on Saturday arrested former prime minister KP Sharma Oli and former home minister Ramesh Lekhak at their respective homes in Bhaktapur.

Officers used “urgent arrest warrants” to take the leaders into custody in connection with a homicide investigation into the deaths of protesters during the “Gen Z” uprising last September. The operation began around 5:00 AM, following a late-night Cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah, where the government decided to immediately implement the findings of a commission led by former judge Gauri Bahadur Karki.

The Karki Commission recommended that Oli and Lekhak, along with former police chief Chandra Kuber Khapung, be prosecuted under Sections 181 and 182 of the National Penal Code. These laws cover causing death through criminal negligence or reckless acts, which carry a potential prison sentence of three to ten years and a fine of up to Rs 100,000 ($1000 USD). The commission’s report found that high-level officials failed to act on intelligence that could have prevented the violence, which resulted in the deaths of 77 people and the destruction of billions in property.

Immediately after the arrests, the situation in Kathmandu became tense as supporters of Oli’s party, the CPN-UML, broke through police barricades at Maitighar Mandala to protest the move. Oli was taken to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital for a health check-up, which is a standard step before a suspect is placed in a holding cell. While the government moved forward with the arrests, the Nepali Congress party issued a statement calling the Karki report “one-sided” and “prima facie flawed,” arguing it ignored acts of arson and vandalism that happened on September 9.

The legal battle is rooted in the “Gen Z” movement of September 2025, when youth activists took to the streets to protest government corruption and a ban on 26 social media platforms, including Facebook and YouTube. During the crackdown, security forces were accused of using unlawful lethal force, including live ammunition. At the time, Home Minister Lekhak resigned on “moral grounds,” and Prime Minister Oli eventually stepped down as the political fallout grew.

This case is now a major test for the rule of law in Nepal as it moves to the courts. On Sunday, government prosecutors must ask a judge to validate the urgent arrest warrants. Under the law, such warrants are only meant for suspects who might run away or destroy evidence, a point that defense lawyers are already challenging. If the court endorses the warrants, the leaders could be held for up to 25 days for questioning; if not, they must be released immediately. The outcome will determine if the country follows established legal procedures or if the process is seen as a “political vendetta”.

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