Nepal’s ex-PM K.P. Sharma Oli arrested over alleged role in crackdown on protesters

Nepal’s former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli and ex-home minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested on Saturday over their alleged involvement in a deadly crackdown on protesters in September, police said.The detentions came a day after Prime Minister Balendra Shah and his cabinet were sworn in after the first election since the 2025 Uprising that toppled 74-year-old Oli’s government.“They were arrested this morning and the process will move forward according to the law,” said Kathmandu Valley police spokesman Om Adhikari.An inquiry commission into the violence found that at least 76 people were killed in the anti-corruption youth uprising on September 8 and 9.At least 19 young people were killed in a crackdown on the first day of protests, which began over a brief social media ban but tapped into long-standing fury over economic hardship.The unrest spread nationwide the following day as parliament and government offices were set ablaze, resulting in the collapse of Oli’s government.