Nepal’s Ex-PM Oli Arrested Over Protest Killings

Nepal’s former prime minister KP Sharma Oli and former home minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested on Saturday over their alleged role in last year’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters, police said.

The arrests came just a day after Prime Minister Balendra Shah and his new cabinet were sworn in following the country’s first election since the 2025 uprising that brought down Oli’s government.

Kathmandu Valley police spokesperson Om Adhikari confirmed the arrests, saying legal proceedings would now continue in line with the law.

The protests, which erupted on September 8 and 9 last year, initially began over a brief social media ban but quickly grew into a nationwide youth-led uprising fuelled by anger over corruption, unemployment and rising economic hardship.

At least 77 people were killed during the unrest, including 19 young protesters on the first day alone, when security forces moved to suppress demonstrations.

The violence intensified the following day as protesters set fire to parliament and several government offices, accelerating the collapse of Oli’s administration.

A commission formed during the caretaker government later recommended prosecuting Oli and several other officials over the bloodshed.

Although the inquiry did not find proof of a direct order to open fire, it concluded that authorities failed to stop or control the shooting. The report said that negligence by those in charge contributed to the deaths, including those of minors.

Oli has consistently denied ordering security forces to fire on protesters, previously blaming “infiltrators” for the violence.

Prime Minister Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician, led his Rastriya Swatantra Party to a landslide victory in this month’s parliamentary election on a platform of political reform and youth-led change.

In a major political upset, Shah defeated Oli in the veteran leader’s own constituency.

At its first meeting on Friday night, the new cabinet approved implementation of the commission’s recommendations.

According to the inquiry, 48 of the 63 completed autopsies found victims had died from bullet wounds, with most shot in the chest or head.

Investigators questioned more than 200 people, including Oli, before submitting a 900-page report backed by an additional 8,000 pages of evidence.

Newly appointed Home Minister Sudan Gurung, who played a prominent role in the protest movement, said the arrests marked the start of accountability.

“No one is above the law. This is not revenge against anyone, but the beginning of justice,” he said in a social media post.

Oli, however, reportedly described the arrest as politically motivated and vowed to challenge it in court.

A dominant figure in Nepali politics for nearly six decades, Oli’s career has spanned some of the country’s most turbulent periods, including the civil war and the abolition of the monarchy in 2008.

His government ultimately fell on September 9, 2025, amid nationwide unrest and attacks on key state institutions, including his own residence.

In his resignation letter at the time, Oli said he hoped stepping down would help pave the way for a political solution to the crisis.