KATHMANDU: The interim government has begun preparations to investigate several senior political leaders over human casualties and property damage during the Gen-Z protests of September 8 and 9, as well as alleged hoarding of illicit cash discovered after subsequent arson attacks.
According to officials, former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and then-Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak are among those likely to face investigation for allegedly ordering the crackdown on the first day of protests, which left at least 19 dead.
At a regular press briefing on Thursday, Minister for Communication and Information Technology Jagadish Kharel confirmed that state agencies have already started their work. When asked about reports of leaders’ passports being frozen, Kharel said, “What you’ve heard is close to the truth. Agencies are moving ahead, and the Prime Minister has already stated that no guilty person will be spared.”
A high-level inquiry commission led by former Supreme Court Justice Gauri Bahadur Karki has already been formed. Once the commission members are sworn in, the government is expected to move formally, potentially suspending the passports of leaders under probe.
Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah, who met the Prime Minister on Wednesday, reportedly pressed for action against Oli and Lekhak. Similarly, Sudhan Gurung has also lobbied for legal proceedings against the former leaders.
Lekhak resigned on September 8, the day of the bloodshed, while Oli stepped down a day later, before leaving Baluwatar in an army rescue helicopter. Oli later denied giving shoot-to-kill orders and hinted at infiltration during the protests.
Beyond the crackdown, the government is also preparing to probe senior Congress and Maoist leaders after large sums of cash were reportedly found burned inside their residences, which were torched by protesters during the uprising.
At Sher Bahadur Deuba’s Budhanilkantha residence, officials from the Department of Money Laundering Investigation and Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) have collected evidence after charred stacks of Nepali and foreign currency were allegedly found. The incident sparked widespread speculation on social media, with claims of cash tunnels inside the compound.
Deuba’s secretariat dismissed the reports as false and politically motivated, but the issue resurfaced during a recent Nepali Congress virtual meeting when district leaders demanded clarifications from the party president. Even NC General Secretary Bishwa Prakash Sharma publicly admitted that state agencies had already begun investigations.
Similarly, former Energy Minister Deepak Khadka’s residence was raided after videos surfaced showing US dollars being burned and blown away during arson attacks.
At the same time, Maoist Centre chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s Khumaltar residence was also inspected after reports of destroyed cash, though no official details have been released.
Political analysts say the government’s willingness to allow investigations into top leaders marks a significant departure from past practices, when high-ranking politicians were largely shielded from accountability.
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