New Delhi: After 48 hours of mayhem, arson, vandalism and the ousting of Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, Nepal woke up to a nationwide curfew on Wednesday (September 10) with army personnel present on streets. While the official death toll from Monday is still at 19, with over 400 injured, those present on the ground say that the number of dead could have increased to 30-40.Amar Kumar Thakur, a 20-year-old undergraduate student from Kathmandu who was at the protests, said, “We took to the streets because we didn’t see any future or employment for the youth. Crime rates were high, politicians were using civilian taxes to fund their luxurious lives. They inhumanely violated human rights. There was no freedom of speech for us any more.”When people began posting about these issues on social media, the government tried to ban these apps, prompting the protests on Monday, Thakur said. “People had been speaking out about this corruption and the ministers’ kids were getting exposed on various social media platforms. So the government tried to suppress it by banning these platforms, which are also used for other day-to-day communication,” he said.Even during the short-lived ban, people continued posting about corruption on social media by accessing these platforms through VPNs, said 17-year-old Anuj Sharma*, who added that looking at the “lavish lifestyles of politicians’ children” is what pushed him to join the movement. “It was all built on the tax money of our parents so of course the rage was justified,” he said.“The money that they spent and the things they posted about, when most of the country is suffering…There are people that don’t have food on their tables and on the other hand we had nepo-babies posting about their assets that cost 20 times more than the per capita income of Nepal,” Sharma said.“The ban on social media made the frustration visible, but the underlying anger over corruption has been building for years. The ban was seen as an attempt to silence people. But what’s really driving the movement is corruption, the misuse of public funds, lack of transparency, and politicians prioritising power over people,” said 23-year-old Naina Chhetri*.Police crackdownThe peaceful protests triggered by the social media ban on September 8 took a turn for the worse after the police opened fire on young protesters, many of whom had come out on the streets dressed in their school and college uniforms. “What the state has done is completely unacceptable. Using bullets on literal students…Some of those who were shot were still in their uniforms. I will never be able to look at the government and the police the same way again,” Sharma said.Riot police use a water cannon on protesters outside Parliament in Kathmandu, Nepal on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: AP/PTIProtesters have also questioned the police’s use of live bullets, asking why they did not aim at people’s feet if the goal was only to scatter the crowd. “They shot at more than 100 minors in college and school uniforms, and they aimed for the upper body or head instead of trying to fire around the legs to scare people away,” Thakur alleged.“The police have disappointed us in every single possible way. They used unnecessary force on young people who were simply showing their disagreement. They have murdered children. No order should justify murdering young children,” Sharma added.Oli’s departureTensions in the Himalayan nation had escalated sharply by Tuesday morning, fuelled by the excessive use of police force on young protesters the night before. Oli’s resignation that afternoon did little to calm the situation.Protesters, in defiance of the curfew put in place on Monday, came out in large numbers and set ablaze homes and offices of the top political leadership of the country, including Oli’s private residence on Tuesday morning.Hours after Oli’s resignation “[protesters] vandalized and torched public properties, including the Singha Durbar, which is the main administrative complex, the Supreme Court, the Parliament building and media houses. Additionally, a number of prominent businesses, including The Hilton Hotel and a number of outlets belonging to the nation’s largest department store were set on fire. The sky over Kathmandu was filled with smoke. Thick clouds of smoke were rising from the burning buildings and spreading across the city,” said Ishwar K. Dahal, a Nepal-based journalist.Chhetri said that the “mob had lost their civic sense” and was setting ablaze whatever came their way. “I saw the [mob] carrying guns and weapons looted from the police, some of them had taken over police vehicles,” she added.Kathmandu: Security personnel pull a barricade outside Nepal’s Parliament amid massive anti-government protests, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo: AP/PTIDahal attributed the inability to control the protesters to the absence of a unifying leader. “ Lack of specific leadership of the protests has probably contributed to the inability to control the agitators,” he said.“After Oli’s resignation, we ended our protest but others, in the guise of the Gen Z movement, and people from political parties began causing chaos and started destroying public buildings,” Thakur alleged. “We are also worried that criminals lodged in various prisons have escaped and that they were deliberately let loose by miscreants,” he added.Several prominent groups like ‘Gen Z Nepal’, ‘Hami Nepal’ and ‘How to Desh Bikas’ called for restraint and later issued statements distancing themselves from the violence on Tuesday, the Kathmandu Post reported.‘Oli’s resignation symbolic, doesn’t address corruption’Oli’s resignation is being seen as a partial victory, but protesters say that it will take a lot more than one corrupt leader’s exit to fulfil their demands. “Without systemic change, a resignation is just a reshuffling of power,” said Chhetri.“I am glad he stepped down but I still hope he will face punishment for what he has done all these years. I do not want this government to learn anything from these protests, I want them gone.” Sharma said, adding that Oli’s resignation was not enough. “It [resignation] does not address our demands. We want a fair, transparent and corruption free country. We demand a complete reset of the system. Otherwise, all this resignation does is keep the seat ready for some other politician that will do the same things that he did,” the 17-year-old added.Protesters have also voiced the demand for an investigation into the events of Monday. “We wanted internal investigation and corruption to end. But after the first day of protests, we have also been demanding an investigation of the incidents [on Monday] and that the protestors who lost their lives be honored with fair elections as soon as possible,” Thakur said.On who could take over control in light of the leadership vacuum in the country at the moment, Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah’s name emerged as the most popular. Sharma said that though the leader was “untested”, he “is probably the most popular leader of Nepal today and the only one that has not been caught in a scandal yet”. Dahal said that while the situation on the streets was beginning to calm down with the army curfew in effect, it is the politics that is uncertain. “It is still chaotic and the state is indecisive on who will take the lead. Naturally, neighboring countries like China and India are watching it very closely. However, in my opinion, Nepal has the ability to handle the situation peacefully. The people themselves can safeguard the democracy they achieved after a long struggle and sacrifice. I am confident that they value democracy without chaos. History shows that many movements in Nepal have reached peaceful conclusions through the efforts of the Nepali people alone,” he said.*Names changed for confidentiality.