Former Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli, ex- home minister arrested

In Nepal, former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has been arrested over his alleged involvement in last year's deadly Gen Z protests - a day after Balendra Shah took oath as the new premier. Oli was taken into custody from his residence in Gundu, Bhaktapur, by the Nepal police. Along with Oli, his former Home Minister, Ramesh Lekhak, was also arrested.A Nepali panel set up to investigate the violence during anti-corruption protests in September last year has recommended that former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli be prosecuted for ‘negligence’ for failing to prevent dozens of deaths.
The arrests follow a formal complaint filed by the Home Ministry, which triggered an investigation and led to the issuance of arrest warrants. Police officials said the action is being carried out to implement recommendations made by a commission led by former Special Court judge Gauri Bahadur Karki.The commission has recommended that Oli, Lekhak and then Inspector General of Police Chandra Kuber Khapung be charged under Sections 181 and 182 of the National Penal Code for criminal negligence, with a proposed prison sentence of up to 10 years.
The report also recommends action against then-home secretary Gokarna Mani Dawadi, Armed Police Force chief Raju Aryal, former head of the National Investigation Department Hutaraj Thapa, and then-chief district officer of Kathmandu Chhabi Rijal, suggesting prosecution under Section 182 of the code.
Minutes after Oli's arrest, the newly-appointed Minister of Home Affairs, Sudan Gurung, said a "promise is a promise" and that "no one is above the law". "We have taken former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and outgoing Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak under control. This is not revenge against anyone; it is just the beginning of justice. I believe that now the country will take a new direction," he wrote in a post on X.
Nepal was rocked by a massive youth-led uprising, dubbed the ‘Gen Z revolution’, in September 2025, fuelled by anger over governance failures, corruption, unemployment and political instability under KP Sharma Oli. What began as a movement for digital freedom soon evolved into a wider anti-establishment revolt, met with a sweeping state crackdown. The ensuing violence claimed at least 76 lives and left more than 2,000 people injured.