New Delhi: Political tensions escalated sharply in Nepal on Saturday (March 28) as former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli was arrested from his Bhaktapur residence over alleged criminal negligence linked to the September 2025 Gen Z-led anti-corruption protests. The country’s former home minister Ramesh Lekhak of the Nepali Congress party has also been taken into custody in Kathmandu.The arrests follow a formal complaint filed by the Home Ministry, which triggered an investigation and led to the issuance of arrest warrants, Kathmandu Post reports.Kathmandu police said the arrests were part of the authorities following through an investigation into the government’s handling of the so-called Gen-Z protests of September 2025. Media reports early on Saturday also indicated angry reactions to the arrests as well as efforts to tackle the crisis both in the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) or CPN-UM, Oli’s party and the Nepali Congress.The CPN-UM, which was a major force in Nepal’s parliament and government over the past decade, has denounced the move as “political revenge” and lacking in legal basis. “This arrest is retaliatory. I will fight it legally, prepare yourselves,” Oli told his lawyers, according to Nepali news site Onlinekhabar.com. It also reported that Oli denied any role in the violence.It also said the CPN-UML has asked party members to engage in dialogue with other political parties following the arrest Oli and Lekhak. Bishnu Paudel will coordinate talks with political parties, while Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’, has been tasked with coordinating dialogue with parliamentary parties. Gokarna Bista will lead the legal response coordination, said another report.The Nepali Congress has also reportedly “initiated consultations” following the arrest of party leader Lekhak. Party officials said they are discussing the developments and plan to release an official statement soon, Nepal News reported.Kathmandu Valley police spokesperson, Om Adhikari, said according to a report in The Guardian, that both men were detained in line with recommendations made by a government-appointed inquiry commission. He added that the process would now move forward “according to the law”.Neither Oli nor Lekhak are formally charged so far. Officials have described the detention as part of an ongoing investigation.The arrests stem from findings of a panel set up to examine the violent unrest that erupted in September last year throughout the country. Initially triggered by a government-imposed social media ban, the agitations escalated into an anti-government movement that included expressions of public frustration over corruption, economic stagnation and political patronage.Demonstrations that began as youth-led mobilisations spread rapidly across Nepal, leading to clashes with security forces and widespread destruction of property.At least 70 people were killed over the course of the two days of the agitation, making it one of the deadliest episodes of civil unrest in Nepal. Several of those killed were protesters, with reports of police opening fire and other fatalities amidst arson attacks and violent confrontations. The unrest ultimately led to the collapse of Oli’s government.While the inquiry commission could not establish a direct order from senior leadership of the day to use lethal force, it noted a significant failure on the part of authorities to prevent or control the violence. It recommended that Oli, Lekhak and other senior officials, including the then police chief, face prosecution over their criminal negligence.The arrests came less than 24 hours after Nepal’s new prime minister, Balendra Shah, was sworn into office following elections widely seen as a response to the political crisis triggered by the protests. Shah, a former rapper turned politician popularly known as Balen, campaigned on assurances of restoring accountability for the deaths and on an anti-corruption plank. Shah took charge of Nepal’s government a day ago, making the arrests one of the new government’s earliest decisions.In a public statement following the arrests, newly appointed home minister Sudan Gurung, who was a key figure in the protests, said in a widely-shared social media post that “no one was above the law“. “This is not revenge against anyone, just the beginning of justice. I believe, now the country will take a new direction,” Gurung said. It was seen as an effort to set the tone for the beginning of a legal process of accountability rather than political retaliation.Oli, 74, has rejected the commission’s findings, describing them as politically motivated. His legal representatives have also challenged his detention, saying it lacked justification, particularly since there are no formal charges yet, nor evidence presented of concerns that he would seek to evade questioning.Mahesh Basnet, the Bagmati Province committee of CPN-UML strongly condemned the arrest of Oli and Lekhak, saying the inquiry report that became the basis for their arrest itself came to incorrect conclusions as it was “biased”. He called the arrest an attack on democracy and the communist movement, and said the party demands the unconditional release of both leaders.Meanwhile, in India, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal responded to the arrests in Nepal with a post on X calling it a result of “past wrongdoing”.नेपाल के पूर्व प्रधान मंत्री और गृह मंत्री अपने पुराने कुकर्मों की वजह से गिरफ़्तार https://t.co/8n1OIeDPzk— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 28, 2026