Nepal’s ex-PM Oli detained over alleged role in deadly protest crackdown

New home minister says arrest of former leader is the ‘beginning of justice’.Nepal’s police have arrested former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and ex-Home Affairs Minister Ramesh Lekhak over their alleged involvement in a deadly crackdown on protesters last year.The detentions on Saturday came a day after Prime Minister Balendra Shah and his cabinet were sworn in after the first elections since the 2025 Uprising that toppled Oli’s government.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Nepal’s youngest premier sworn in after releasing new rap song about unitylist 2 of 4Nepal ministers resign after 19 killed: Why are ‘nepo kids’ angering youth?list 3 of 4Nepal rivals rally on final day of poll campaign, PM urges citizens to votelist 4 of 4Nepal’s Gen Z threw out old parties. Will it vote for them in key election?end of list“They were arrested this morning and the process will move forward according to the law,” Kathmandu-valley-police" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="82213" data-entity-type="organization">Kathmandu Valley Police spokesman Om Adhikari said.According to Kathmandu-post" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="82214" data-entity-type="organization">The Kathmandu Post, Oli, 74, was taken into custody from his residence in Bhaktapur, a suburb of the capital, Kathmandu. Images later showed Oli waking into a hospital, dressed all in white, and surrounded by police officers.Lekhak was also detained on Saturday from another area of Bhaktapur, his personal secretary Janak Bhatta told the Post.In a statement on Facebook, new Home Minister Sudan Gurung wrote, “promise is a promise: No one is above the law”.“This is not vengeance against anyone, it is simply the beginning of justice. I believe the country is now headed in a new direction,” said Gurung.Oli has yet to issue a statement regarding the arrest.At least 77 people were killed in the anticorruption uprising on September 8-9, 2025, which began over a brief social media ban but tapped into longstanding fury over economic hardship.At least 19 young people were killed in the crackdown on the first day of protests.‘Infiltrators’The demonstrations spread nationwide the following day as parliament and government offices were set ablaze, resulting in the government’s collapse.