Kathmandu: Former Nepal prime minister KP Sharma Oli has been arrested in connection with last year’s crackdown on youth-led protests, police said.
The protests began on September 8 last year, when young demonstrators marched towards Parliament opposing restrictions imposed on social media. The agitation spread across the country and turned violent.
Police said clashes broke out between protesters and security personnel, after which security forces opened fire to disperse the crowd. Reports had said up to 76 people were killed during the two-day unrest. Following the incident, Oli resigned as prime minister and dissolved his government.
An FIR has been registered against Oli and others, alleging responsibility for deaths caused by firing and violence during the protests. A high-level probe panel headed by Justice Gauri Bahadur Karki has already been formed, and the FIR was forwarded to the committee for inquiry.
On March 28, former home minister Ramesh Lekhak was also arrested. Visuals showed Oli being taken from his residence in Bhaktapur and escorted to a hospital for a medical examination. The action comes a day after 35-year-old rapper and former Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah took oath as Nepal’s 47th prime minister.
