Within days of Shah assuming office, former prime minister K. P. Sharma Oli and former home minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested on Saturday in connection with the deaths of students during last year’s Gen Z-led revolt, an episode that had come to symbolize the angst of Nepal’s youth against the old political establishment.
Nepal’s new leadership has acted on a probe into protest violence, ordering arrests of top former officials as accountability questions intensify over deaths during the Gen Z movement crackdown.
Oli was taken into custody from his residence in Gundu, Bhaktapur, while Lekhak was arrested earlier the same morning from his residence in Suryabinayak, Bhaktapur.
With two of four seats declared and leads in 101 constituencies out of 165 where direct elections are held, the newbie RSP party led by former Kathmandu Mayor Balendra 'Balen' Shah looks set to form the government
On 5 March, nearly 19 million citizens of Nepal will vote to choose a new House of Representatives.
Oli claimed that Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had warned that protests like those in their countries could happen in Nepal as well.
Recent youth protests in Nepal, set off by a ban on social media and discontent with corruption and economic inequality brought drastic changes in Nepal's political landscape.
Nepali President Ram Chandra Paudel is expected to meet with representatives of the Gen Z protest on Wednesday in an effort to seek a peaceful resolution through dialogue.
In a statement, the military urged the protesters not to resort to the violence and encouraged them to engage in dialogue to restore stability.
Nepal's Gen Z protesters have said they took to the streets of the country over the past two days not to primarily demonstrate against the social media ban but to press for youth leadership to lead the country.
