Former Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli Arrested

Swift action by Balen Shah immediately after taking charge as Prime Minister

Kathmandu (Nepal) – A new Government installed in Nepal after an earlier this month’s seismic electoral shift has stoked political tensions with the arrest of former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli. The Police on Saturday arrested Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak on charges of culpable homicide during last September’s Gen Z protests. The arrests came a day after the new Government led by Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party was sworn in, six months after the protests in which 76 people lost their lives, including 19 in Police firing on 8 September. According to the police, the arrests were made to implement the recommendations of a probe commission that investigated the incidents during the Gen Z uprising.

Oli was taken into custody from his residence in Gundu, while Lekhak was arrested in Suryabinayak, Bhaktapur, a district adjoining Kathmandu.

What was the “Gen Z” movement ?

The then Oli Government had imposed a ban on 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and YouTube. In protest against this ban, a massive movement was launched by the youth of Nepal in September 2025. This came to be known as the “Gen Z” movement. What started as a movement for digital freedom soon turned into a large-scale anti-government protest. During the agitation, many protesters even entered the Parliament building. The subsequent violence led to the deaths of several people, while more than 2,000 were injured. Following this, the Oli Government withdrew the ban on social media platforms.