Nepal’s former prime minister arrested over protest crackdowns
The former prime minister of Nepal was arrested early Saturday for his role in protesters being killed by police during youth-led rallies in September 2025 that spread nationwide over social media bans, government corruption and a weak economy. File Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA
March 28 (UPI) — Nepal’s former prime minister, KP Sharma Oli, was arrested on Saturday for crackdowns during protests last year, which more than 70 people being shot by police.
Former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak was also arrested for the response to the so-called Gen Z protests, which started after the government shutdown access to social media sites and inspired larger protests across the country over government corruption and a faltering economy.
Oli, whose administration deployed the Nepali Army after violence as police employed brutal tactics to quell the initial rallies, including shooting people in their teens and early 20s, resigned as a result of the protests.
Oli and his attorneys have accused the new government of Balendra Shah and his cabinet has said that the arrests were unnecessary and illegal because neither is likely to flee the country.
“No one is above the law,” new Home Minister Sudan Gurung wrote on Instagram, The Guardian reported.
“We have taken former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak under control,” said Gurung, who was a significant figure in the protests. “This is not revenge against anyone, just the beginning of Justice.”
Shah, a former hip hop artist, ran partially on promises of holding former government officials accountable for the crackdowns and allowing police to shoot protesters, The BBC reported.
The day after police shot protesters at the youth-led rallies, the protests spread, with government offices set on fire, even more protesters killed and Oli’s resignation.
A government panel that investigated the protests recommended that Oli, Lekhak and other officials be tried for their roles in the deaths.
Although the panel’s report does not show that police were ordered to fire on protesters, it said that “no effort was made to stop or control the firing and, due to their negligent conduct, even minors lost their lives.”
If convicted, the men face up to 10 years in prison.
