Kathmandu — Nepal police arrested former energy minister and Nepali Congress leader Deepak Khadka on Sunday as part of a money‑laundering investigation, local media reported. The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) took Khadka into custody on Sunday morning, CIB spokesperson Shiva Kumar Shrestha told The Himalayan. According to The Kathmandu Post, police detained him for questioning at the request of the Department of Money Laundering Investigation.
Images and videos from last year’s Gen Z protests reportedly showed burnt fragments of banknotes at Khadka’s residence and at the homes of former prime ministers Sher Bahadur Deuba and Pushpa Kamal Dahal; those findings were confirmed by forensic laboratory tests, the reports said. Authorities allege Khadka received financial benefits in exchange for facilitating licences and contracts while serving as minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation.
His arrest came a day after former prime minister K P Sharma Oli and former home minister Ramesh Lekhak were detained on allegations of involvement in suppressing the Gen Z movement on September 8–9 last year, an operation that left 76 people dead, including roughly two dozen youths.
