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Agence France-Presse

Nepal’s former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli and ex-home minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested on Saturday over their alleged involvement in a deadly crackdown on protesters in September, police said.
The detentions came a day after Prime Minister Balendra Shah and his cabinet were sworn in after the first election since the 2025 uprising that toppled 74-year-old Oli’s government.
“They were arrested this morning and the process will move forward according to the law,” said Kathmandu Valley police spokesman Om Adhikari.
An inquiry commission into the violence found that at least 76 people were killed in the anti-corruption youth uprising on September 8 and 9.
At least 19 young people were killed in a crackdown on the first day of protests, which began over a brief social media ban but tapped into long-standing fury over economic hardship.
The unrest spread nationwide the following day as parliament and government offices were set ablaze, resulting in the collapse of Oli’s government.


The government-backed inquiry commission recommended during a caretaker administration that Oli and other officials be prosecuted.
Its report said it was “not established that there was an order to shoot”, but added that “no effort was made to stop or control the firing and, due to their negligent conduct, even minors lost their lives”.
Oli has denied ordering security forces to open fire on protesters.
He said during his failed bid for re-election in the March 5 poll that he blamed “infiltrators” for the violence.
Oli was arrested by police in the capital in the early hours of Saturday.
“They have been arrested for investigation on the protests of September 8 and 9,” said Kathmandu district police spokesman Pawan Kumar Bhattarai.
Agence France-Presse reporters later saw him walk into hospital, dressed in white and surrounded by a heavy police guard.
“He has been admitted at the hospital on doctor’s advice,” Bhattarai said. “They will oversee his treatment. He has issues with his heart and kidney.”
Oli’s CPN-UML Marxist party called for supporters to stage a “nationwide protest”.
“This is a revengeful act, may the government immediately take this decision back,” senior party leader Mahesh Basnet told reporters.

Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician, and his Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections this month on a platform of youth-driven political change.
He challenged and defeated Marxist leader Oli in the four-time former prime minister’s own constituency.
Shah’s first cabinet meeting on Friday decided to implement the recommendations made by the investigation commission.
The commission’s report said victims in 48 out of 63 completed autopsies died of bullet wounds, and that most were struck in the chest or head.
More than 200 people were questioned, including Oli, and a 900-page report with an additional 8,000 pages of evidence was submitted.
“No one is above the law … This is not revenge against anyone, just the beginning of justice. I believe, now the country will take a new direction,” new Home Minister Sudan Gurung, a key figure in the protests, posted on Instagram.
Nepali news site Onlinekhabar.com said on Saturday Oli had denied any role in the violence.
“This arrest is vindictive, I will fight a legal battle for it, prepare yourselves,” Oli told his lawyers, the site reported.
Oli’s political career stretches nearly six decades, a period that saw a decade-long civil war and the 2008 abolition of Nepal’s monarchy.
As prime minister, Oli became a lightning rod for protester fury. He resigned on September 9 as mobs torched his house, parliament and government offices.
Oli said in his resignation letter he hoped stepping down would help “move towards a political solution and the resolution of the problems”.


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Nepal’s ex-PM K.P. Sharma Oli arrested over alleged role in crackdown on protesters

Nepal’s former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli earlier in March. Photo: Reuters

Balendra Shah (centre) flashes a victory sign after collecting a certificate in Damak, Nepal, following his win in parliamentary elections earlier this month. Photo: AFP

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People burn tyres during a demonstration in Kathmandu on September 9 to condemn the Nepali police’s deadly crackdown on protesters. Photo: AFP

A picture of former Nepali prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli lies on the floor in a building that houses the Prime Minister’s office after the deadly anti-corruption protests last year. Photo: Reuters

Photos of people who died in last year’s Gen-Z uprising in Nepal displayed in front of the parliament gate in Kathmandu. Photo: EPA

Balendra Shah (centre), prime ministerial candidate of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, receives his election victory certificate on March 8 in Jhapa, Nepal. Photo: AP

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Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party takes a selfie with children and supporters during a door-to-door election campaign on February 16. Photo: AFP

Nepal’s national flag is seen flying at half-mast through a structure built in the shape of country’s map in Kathmandu last September following that month’s deadly unrest. Photo: AFP

Nepali migrant workers speak with airport officials in Kathmandu on March 1 after multiple international flights were cancelled amid the US-Israeli war on Iran. Photo: EPA

Maoist activists chant slogans during anti-government protests in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2009. Photo: AFP

Young Nepalis stand in front of the parliament gate in Kathmandu where photos of people who died in last year’s Gen-Z uprising are displayed on March 11. Photo: EPA

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Bhumika Shrestha, Nepal’s first transgender woman to become a member of parliament, is congratulated by members of the LGBTQ community in Kathmandu on Monday. Photo: EPA

Bhumika Shrestha receives garlands from other LGBTQ members at a Blue Diamond Society event on Monday. Photo: AP

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Balendra Shah, 35, receives his victory certificate on Sunday after defeating former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in Nepal’s parliamentary election. Photo: AP

Supporters of Balen Shah and the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) celebrate outside a counting centre on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Balendra Shah casts his vote during the parliamentary election in Kathmandu on Thursday. Photo: EPA

Balendra Shah (seated, in glasses) prepares to receive his victory certificate after winning in Nepal’s parliamentary election. Photo: AP

A demonstrator celebrates at Nepal’s Singha Durbar complex, which houses the prime minister’s office and other ministries, after storming it during last year’s youth-led protests. Photo: Reuters 

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Oli says he will fight the ‘vindictive’ arrest, as former home minister Ramesh Lekhak is also detained


Oli says he will fight the ‘vindictive’ arrest, as former home minister Ramesh Lekhak is also detained.


K.P. Sharma Oli

Protests around the world

Nepal’s ex-PM K.P. Sharma Oli arrested over alleged role in crackdown on protesters

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Oli says he will fight the ‘vindictive’ arrest, as former home minister Ramesh Lekhak is also detained

Oli says he will fight the ‘vindictive’ arrest, as former home minister Ramesh Lekhak is also detained