Nepal’s former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested on Saturday morning over their alleged involvement in the deadly crackdown on protesters in September, police said.
The detention came a day after Prime Minister Balendra Shah and his Cabinet were sworn in following the first elections since the 2025 rebellion that toppled the 74-year-old Oli’s government.
“He was arrested this morning and the process will proceed as per the law,” Kathmandu Valley police spokesman Om Adhikari told AFP.
At least 77 people were killed in an anti-corruption youth uprising on September 8 and 9, which began over a brief social media ban but turned into longer-lasting rage over economic hardship.
At least 19 youth were killed in the crackdown on the first day of protests.
The following day unrest spread across the country as parliament and government offices were set on fire, resulting in the fall of the government.
A government-backed commission into the deadly insurgency during the caretaker administration had recommended prosecution of Oli and other officials.
The report said that “it was not established that there was an order to open fire”, but added that “no effort was made to stop or control the firing and, due to their reckless conduct, even the minors lost their lives”.
Oli has previously denied ordering security forces to open fire on protesters. He told AFP during his unsuccessful bid for re-election in the March 5 vote that he blamed “infiltrators” for the violence.
‘Beginning of Justice’
Rapper-turned-politician Shah, 35, and his Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections this month on a platform of youth-driven political change.
Shah challenged and defeated Marxist leader Oli in the former prime minister’s own constituency four times.
In Shah’s first cabinet meeting on Friday evening, it was decided to implement the recommendations of the inquiry commission.
The commission’s report stated that of the 63 completed autopsies, 48 victims died from gunshot wounds, and most were shot in the chest or head.
Over 200 people, including Oli, were interrogated and a 900-page report was submitted with an additional 8,000 pages of evidence.
Newly appointed Home Minister Sudan Gurung, who was a prominent figure in the protests, posted on Instagram, “Nobody is above the law… This is not revenge against anyone, just the beginning of justice. I believe the country will now take a new direction.”
On Saturday, Nepali newssite Onlinekhabar.com said he denied any role in the violence.
According to the site’s report, Oli told his lawyers, “This arrest is retaliatory, I will fight a legal battle for it, prepare yourself.”
Oli’s political career spans nearly six decades, a period that included a decade of civil war and the abolition of the monarchy in Nepal in 2008.
As prime minister, Oli became a lightning rod for the anger of the protesters. He resigned on September 9, 2025, after mobs set fire to his house, Parliament and government offices.
In his resignation letter, Oli said he hoped stepping down would help “move towards a political solution and resolve the problems”.