KATHMANDU: Nepal’s former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli was arrested on Saturday as authorities investigate whether he was negligent in preventing the deaths of dozens of protesters during anti-corruption demonstrations led by Gen Z last September, officials said.
The arrest follows the swearing-in of rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah as Nepal’s new prime minister on Friday and the recommendation of a panel investigating the protests that Oli should face prosecution for negligence. Oli’s former home minister, Ramesh Lekhak, was also taken into custody.
During the crackdown last September, 76 people were killed as protesters demanded an end to corruption, more job opportunities, and cleaner governance, ultimately leading to Oli’s resignation. Following his arrest, supporters staged rallies near the prime minister’s office, clashing with police and burning tires. Authorities used teargas and batons to disperse the demonstrators, injuring one person.
Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) condemned the arrest as illegal and an act of “revenge,” demanding his immediate release and announcing further protests on Sunday. Home Minister Sudan Gurung dismissed these claims, calling the arrest “the beginning of justice” and asserting that the country was moving in a new direction.
Oli, 74, who has undergone two kidney transplants, has been transferred from police custody to a hospital. His lawyer, Tikaram Bhattarai, told Reuters the arrest was unnecessary and would be challenged in the Supreme Court, noting there was no risk of Oli fleeing or avoiding questioning.
Oli served four terms as Nepal’s prime minister between 2015 and 2025 but never completed a full term. His popularity surged briefly in 2020 after publishing a new political map including disputed territory controlled by India, but waned after repeated electoral defeats. The anger over the deaths in the September protests helped Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party secure a landslide victory in recent elections.
The investigating panel held Oli and Lekhak responsible for failing to act while police fired on protesters for hours. Police spokesperson Om Adhikari said both leaders would be presented in court on Sunday. Lekhak and his legal team were not immediately available for comment.
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