Nepali police arrested the ousted former prime minister during the protest movement

Nepal Police on March 28 announced that they had arrested former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and former Interior Minister Ramesh Lekhak in Kathmandu. The arrest took place a day after rap singer-turned-politician Balendra Shah took office as Prime Minister of Nepal.

The Investigation Council accused Mr. Oli and Mr. Lekhak of dereliction of duty for not taking any action to prevent police from shooting at protesters in September 2025.

The protest by Nepalese youth, initially aimed at protesting the social media ban and corruption, became the deadliest episode of violence in decades when police used live bullets to suppress it, killing 76 people. The protest caused Mr. Oli’s government to collapse, paving the way for Nepal to hold a general election.

After resigning, Mr. Oli said that his government had not given the order to open fire on protesters and accused “infiltrators of inciting violence, leading to the tragic loss of scores of young lives.”

Mr. Oli’s supporters today held a march and clashed with police when they stopped them from burning tires near the Prime Minister’s office. Witnesses said police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse the crowd, injuring one person.

Oli’s supporters called the police’s arrest an illegal act of “retaliation” and demanded his immediate release.

However, Sudanese Interior Minister Gurung rejected these criticisms, affirming that the decision to arrest Mr. Oli “is the beginning of justice. The country will go in a new direction from now on”.

Witnesses said that after his arrest, Mr. Oli, 74 years old, who had undergone two kidney transplants, was transferred from police headquarters to the hospital. His lawyer, Tikaram Bhattarai, declared that Mr. Oli’s arrest was illegal and will appeal to the Supreme Court.

“They said the arrest was for investigation. That was illegal and unsatisfactory because he was not at risk of fleeing or avoiding interrogation,” this lawyer affirmed. Mr. Lekhak and his lawyer have not yet commented.

Mr. Oli served as prime minister four times in the period 2015-2025 but never completed a full 5-year term. In 2020, he received great support when he announced a new political map that included part of the disputed territory controlled by India.

However, that support did not last. He was defeated by Mr. Shah in his home constituency in this month’s general election. This is his second defeat since multi-party democracy was restored in 1990 in Nepal.