Kathmandu, Updated At: 11:37 AM Mar 28, 2026 IST
Former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli was arrested early Saturday in the Gundu area of Bhaktapur district, a day after the new government led by Balendra Shah moved to implement a probe commission report on last year’s Gen Z protests.
Former Home Minister and Nepali Congress leader Ramesh Lekhak was also taken into custody from his residence in Katunje, Suryabinayak Municipality, Bhaktapur, police said. Both have been accused of involvement in suppressing the Gen Z demonstrations of September 8-9 last year, in which 76 people, including about two dozen youths, died.
The probe commission that investigated the unrest recommended criminal action against Oli, Lekhak and others. In its first cabinet meeting on Friday, the Balendra Shah government decided to implement the commission’s recommendations immediately.
“Nobody is above the law,” Home Minister Sudhan Gurung wrote on social media after the arrests. “We have taken under control former Prime Minister KP Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak. This is not a revenge against anybody, just the beginning of justice. I believe that now the country will take a new direction.”
Both men are detained at the Kathmandu District Police Circle in Bhadrakali. The commission recommended jail terms ranging from three to ten years for the alleged offences. A senior police officer said they will be presented before the Kathmandu District Court on Sunday, since Saturday is a holiday, after which formal investigation procedures will begin.
Oli was taken to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital for a medical examination following his detention. CPN-UML has called an emergency secretariat meeting at its central office in Lalitpur to discuss the situation.
