Nepal's Ex-PM KP Sharma Oli Arrested Over Fatal Crackdown on Last Year’s Protests

Nepal’s former prime minister KP Sharma Oli has been arrested over his alleged involvement in a deadly crackdown on protests last year, the BBC has reported.

More than 70 people were killed during the uprising in September, which was sparked by a social media ban but fuelled by widespread anger over corruption and poor economic conditions.

Former home minister Ramesh Lekhak was also arrested today, after a panel appointed to investigate the unrest recommended that both men be prosecuted for criminal negligence.

The arrests come a day after the nation’s new prime minister, 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician Balen Shah, was sworn in following an election triggered by the crisis.

“They were arrested this morning, and the process will move forward according to the law,” Kathmandu Valley police spokesman Om Adhikari told AFP. Oli, 74, and Lekhak, 62, have not yet been formally charged.

Oli has previously rejected the findings of the commission, describing them as “character assassination and hate politics.”

The commission also recommended the arrest of former police chief Chandra Kuber Khapung.

On Instagram, new Home Minister Sudan Gurung — a key figure in the protests — welcomed the arrests.

“No one is above the law. This is not revenge against anyone, rather just a beginning of justice,” he wrote.

Oli, who resigned on 9 September last year, re-contested in this year’s election on 5 March.

Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won in a landslide — the first time in decades that a single party has garnered a majority in Nepal, which has an electoral format that makes it difficult for any one party to win outright.