Former Nepal PM K P Sharma Oli denied ordering police firing during Gen Z protests, claiming police lacked automatic guns.
He alleged infiltrators incited violence that killed 74 people, while key government buildings and his residence were torched.
Oli, now in private hiding under army protection, called for unity to defend Nepal’s sovereignty and Constitution.
Ousted Nepal PM Oli Denies Ordering Firing on Gen Z Protesters, Seeks Probe into Violence
Oli blames infiltrators for turning peaceful agitation violent; says bullets not from police weapons.
Summary
K P Sharma Oli, the ousted prime minister of Nepal, denied on Friday that he had ordered any shooting during the 'Gen Z' protests, claiming that police officers lacked automatic weapons and that protestors were reportedly shot at with. He also demanded an investigation into the incident.
Blaming the violence during Gen-Z's "peaceful protest" on the infiltrators, the leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) made his first public remarks since his removal on September 9.
According to PTI, 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.
The youth-led violent protests against corruption and a social media ban on September 8 and 9 claimed the lives of 74 people, including three police officers.
"The infiltrating conspirators turned the agitation violent, and this way our youths were killed," he stated, asserting that there had been "infiltration" in the "peaceful protests." Oli expressed sorrow at the deaths and called for an investigation into the tragedy.
"The Singhdurbar Secretariat and Supreme Court were set on fire, Nepal's map was burnt, and many important government buildings were set on fire after I resigned from the post," he said.
"I don’t want to elaborate on the conspiracies behind these incidents; time will speak for itself,” he added.
PTI reported that he also recalled the challenges the country had faced while promulgating the Constitution.
"The Constitution was promulgated in the midst of a border blockade and challenges against national sovereignty,” said Oli, who did not appear at the Constitution Day event organised at the UML's central party office.
"All generations of Nepalis must unite — to confront the assault on our sovereignty and to defend our Constitution,” he added.
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Even though he left the position on September 9, Oli had already flown to the army barracks, most likely in the Shivapuri forest area in the north of Kathmandu, as soon as the Gen Z protest descended into violence.
Oli just relocated to a private location after being under the Nepal Army's protection for nine days. The location of his current lodging, however, has not been disclosed to the public. Media reports state that Oli has relocated to a private residence 15 kilometres east of Kathmandu in the Gundu neighbourhood of the Bhaktapur region.
On the second day of the demonstration, his home in Balkot, Bhaktapur, was reduced to ashes by the Gen-Z demonstrators. When the demonstrators partially set fire to the Prime Minister's Office in Balkot, Oli was in the Nepal PM's official residence.
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However, the Nepal Army dispatched a chopper to rescue Oli, allowing him to escape safely.
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