KATHMANDU — Police have arrested former Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak on charges of negligent killings during last September’s Gen Z protests.
The arrests come a day after a new government led by Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party was sworn in, six months after the protests in which 76 people lost their lives, including 19 in police firing on September 8.
Mr. Oli was taken into custody from his residence in Gundu, while Mr. Lekhak was arrested in Suryabinayak, Bhaktapur, a district adjoining Kathmandu.
The arrests followed formal complaints filed by the Home Ministry, triggering investigations that led to the issuance of arrest warrants.
According to police, the arrests were made to implement the recommendations of a probe commission that investigated the incidents during the Gen Z uprising.
The Gen Z protests overthrew the Oli government, in which Mr. Lekhak, a Nepali Congress leader, served as Home Minister. A commission formed to investigate the incidents of September 8 and 9 recommended that both be prosecuted for negligent killings, stating that both failed to prevent lethal police firing.
The commission submitted its report to the outgoing government led by Sushila Karki on March 8. The report, however, was leaked to the media on Wednesday, two days before Shah was sworn in as Prime Minister following the RSP’s landslide victory in the March 5 polls.
Soon after taking oath, Mr. Shah appointed Sudhan Gurung as Home Minister. Gurung, a key figure during the Gen Z protests, filed a complaint against Mr. Oli and Mr. Lekhak in October.
At its first meeting on Friday evening, the Shah Cabinet decided to implement the probe commission’s report.
Sasmit Pokharel, the newly appointed Education Minister and government spokesperson, told journalists that relevant agencies had been directed to act on the commission’s recommendations.
Home Minister Gurung held consultations with the chiefs of Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force late into Friday night, ahead of the arrests of Mr. Oli and Mr. Lekhak on Saturday morning.
The commission has also recommended the prosecution of Chandra Kuber Khapung, who was the chief of Nepal Police during the protests.
If found guilty, all three could face jail terms of up to 10 years.
The sudden release of the probe commission’s report raised concerns about possible actions by the new government, with legal experts urging caution.
On Friday night, sister wings of Oli’s CPN-UML warned of “consequences” if their leader was arrested. — (The Hindu)