Gen Z group demands arrest of Oli, Lekhak, and Kathmandu CDO, alleging responsibility for deaths during anti-govt protests.
Oli denies ordering firing, claims bullets came from automatic guns not possessed by police, calls for probe.
Protests erupted after govt banned 26 social media platforms; ban lifted the same day amid violent unrest that killed 72, including police.
Nepal Gen Z Protesters Demand Arrest of Ex-PM Oli, Ex-Home Minister Over Deadly Shootout
Youth-led group blames Oli, Lekhak, and officials for September 8 firing that killed 19, seeks probe into leaders’ wealth since 1990.
Summary
Deposed Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak were demanded to be arrested by the "Gen Z" group on Saturday for their alleged involvement in a shooting that claimed 19 lives during the September 8 anti-government protests.
"Oli, Lekhak, and Chief District Officer of Kathmandu Chhabi Rijal should be arrested immediately as they were directly responsible for the shootout at Naya Baneshwor in which 19 activists were killed," Dr Nicholas Bushal, one of the advisers to the Gen Z group that led the protests, said at a press conference held at Sambad Dabali here.
In addition, Bhushal called for the establishment of a high-level inquiry commission to look into the wealth of all government officials and high-ranking leaders since 1990.
The Gen Z activists staged a sit-in at Maitighar Mandala, which is close to Singhdurbar Secretariat in Kathmandu, where the protest demonstration on September 8 began, calling for the arrest of Oli and Lekhak.
Violent protests over alleged corruption and a social media ban on September 8 and 9 resulted in the deaths of at least 72 individuals, including three police officers.
The former prime minister said that bullets were fired at protestors from automatic firearms that the police did not have and demanded an investigation into the incident on Friday, denying that he had issued any orders to shoot during the Gen Z demonstrations.
“The government didn’t order to shoot at the demonstrators,” 73-year-old Oli said in a message issued on the occasion of Constitution Day.
“The bullets were fired at the protesters from automatic guns, which were not possessed by the police personnel, and this must be investigated,” Oli said.
Shortly after hundreds of agitators stormed into his office demanding his resignation, Oli resigned on September 9.
Prakash Man Singh Raut, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, stated on Saturday that the court has not yet issued an order banning social media platforms.
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“The Supreme Court had not ordered the government to shut down social media sites,” CJ Raut said while talking to the media in Kathmandu.
According to him, the administration was asked by the Supreme Court to regularise social media sites by creating the required legislation, which is standard procedure around the world.
The Gen Z group protested on September 8 after the Oli-led government banned 26 social media platforms, citing a Supreme Court ruling. On the evening of September 8, the social media prohibition was removed.
Sushila Karki, a former chief justice, was sworn in as Nepal's first female prime minister to head a temporary administration on September 12.
With PTI inputs.
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