Nepal's former prime minister K P Sharma Oli and ex-home minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested on Saturday morning over their alleged involvement in deadly September protests, reports said.
Oli was taken into custody from his residence in Gundu, Bhaktapur at around 5 am on Saturday, reported The Kathmandu Post, while Lekhak was arrested from his residence in Suryabinayak.
The arrests follow a formal complaint by Nepal's home ministry, which triggered an investigation into last year's deadly protests and led to the issuance of warrants.
Why was Oli arrested?
The Post reported that the arrests were carried out based on recommendations by a commission led by Special Court Judge Gauri Bahadur Karki, which called for Oli, Lekhak, and then Inspector General of Police Chandra Kuber Khapung to be charged under Sections 181 and 182 of the National Penal Code.
Action has also been recommended against several other top officials of the Oli government, including then home secretary Gokarna Mani Dawadi and armed police chief Raju Aryal.
The commission's report attributes the deadly crackdown on protesters to criminal negligence and recklessness, citing the Oli government's failure to act on prior intelligence about possible escalations.
"They were arrested this morning and the process will move forward according to the law," Kathmandu Valley police spokesman Om Adhikari told AFP.
The detentions come a day after rapper-turned-politician and Nepal's new Prime Minister Balendra Shah and his cabinet were sworn in after the first elections since the 2025 uprising.
Subsequently, a cabinet meeting on Friday led by the new PM decided to implement the commission's report, paving the way for legal action against those named.
A senior police officer at the Kathmandu District Police Circle told news agency PTI that Oli and Lekhak would be presented before the Kathmandu District Court on Sunday, as it is a holiday on Saturday. Then the process of investigation in the case will start, he added.
Nepal's Gen Z uprising
During last year's youth-led protests in Nepal, 19 young people were killed in a government crackdown on the first day, sparking nationwide unrest that, over the span of a few days, resulted in the deaths of 77 people.
The protests, which were sparked by a social media ban but tapped into longstanding discontent over corruption and economic hardship, also led to Oli's resignation and the fall of his government.
