Collected photo

KATHMANDU, Nepal, March 28, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Nepal's former prime minister KP 
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 following the first elections 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," Kathmandu Valley police spokesman Om Adhikari told AFP.

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 20 young people were killed in a crackdown on the first day of 
protests, which began over a brief social media ban but tapped into 
longstanding 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.

The government-backed inquiry commission recommended during a caretaker 
administration that Oli and other officials be prosecuted.

Its report said it was "not established that there was an order to shoot", 
but added that "no effort was made to stop or control the firing and, due to 
their negligent conduct, even minors lost their lives".

Oli has denied ordering security forces to open fire on protesters.

He told AFP during his failed bid for re-election in the March 5 poll that he 
blamed "infiltrators" for the violence.

Oli was arrested by police in the capital in the early hours of Saturday.

"They have been arrested for investigation on the protests of September 8 and 
9," Kathmandu district police spokesman Pawan Kumar Bhattarai said.

AFP reporters later saw Oli walk into hospital, dressed in white and 
surrounded by a heavy police guard.

"He has been admitted at the hospital on doctor's advice," Bhattarai said. 
"They will oversee his treatment. He has issues with his heart and kidney."

Oli's CPN-UML Marxist party called for supporters to stage a "nationwide 
protest".