Nepal Unrest: Former PM’s House Set on Fire, His Wife Dies of Burn Injuries
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 9: Nepal’s Gen-Z protests that led to the end of the KP Sharma Oli government in the Himalayan nation, had left behind many brutal incidents including burning to death of the wife of the former prime minister Jhalanath Khanal.
The protesters trapped her in their home and set the house on fire. Rabi Laxmi Chitrakar, the wife of Mr Khanal, succumbed to burn injuries after their house in Dallu was set on fire by the protestors. Chitrakar was taken to the Kirtipur Burn Hospital in a critical condition, but could not survive, Nepali outlet Khabar Hub quoted family members as saying.
Nepal President Ram Chandra Paudel has called protestors for talks next week, media reports said. Within hours of violent anti-government demonstrations erupting across Nepal, Prime Minister KP Oli resigned from his post amid growing calls for his immediate departure on Tuesday. The fresh wave of protests occurred despite a curfew and other restrictions in place.
The protesters vandalised the residence of Prime Minister Oli, President of Nepal, former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ at Khumaltar in Lalitpur and demonstrated in front of former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba’s house at Budhanilkantha in Kathmandu.
Another former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife, Arzu Rana Deuba, the foreign minister, were also assaulted by protesters. The demonstrators broke into the residence of Deuba in Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu. Footage shows the ex-minister bleeding from his face in the aftermath of the attacks. Before the authorities arrived at the scene to rescue Deuba and Arzu, their residence was desecrated.
Mr Oli’s finance minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel, 65, was chased through the streets of the capital with people running behind him, showed a disturbing video. The minister, showed the video, was kicked and thrashed brutally. The minister fell once, quickly took his feet and resumed running. A young protester, from the opposite direction, jumps and kicks the minister down, who is thrown off balance and crashes into a red wall.
The demonstrations, led by ‘Gen Z’ protesters, escalated after protesters resorted to arson and vandalism in Kathmandu and other parts of the country. Residences of political leaders, cabinet ministers and official buildings were set ablaze by the angry youth. Even party offices and police stations have not been spared.
Visuals showed a war-like situation in capital Kathmandu, with small armies of young men and women occupying public spaces and engaged in pitched battles with the cops. “Stop the ban on social media. Stop corruption, not social media,” protesters shouted.
Several social media sites – including Facebook, YouTube and X – were blocked on Friday in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people, after the government cut access to 26 unregistered platforms. The protests, which began on Monday with demands that the government lift the ban on social media and tackle corruption, reignited despite the apps going back online. Kathmandu police spokesman Shekhar Khanal said several groups had refused to obey a curfew on Tuesday and added that there were protesters in the street in many areas, and “cases of fire and attacks”.
Authorities responded swiftly by re-imposing restrictions in the capital. The Kathmandu District Administration Office imposed an indefinite curfew inside the Ring Road area of the Nepalese capital. Protesters blocked key roads near the Nepal Parliament and in Kalanki, among other locations. They were seen chanting slogans and confronting police. Visuals show violent clashes in Kathmandu.
The protestors in Bhairahawa city set fire to the Gautam Buddha International Airport on Tuesday evening, entering the premises and vandalising property, The Kathmandu Post reported. The protestors also torched four government vehicles, damaging some security vehicles.
As protestors continue vandalising and setting fire to house of lawmakers and ministers, the Parsa District Administration extended the curfew in Birgunj indefinitely, The Kathmandu Post reported. The restriction was initially imposed from 11 am to 6 pm in specific areas, but was extended by Chief District Officer Toya Naryan Subedi until further notice.
Demonstrations led by young people angry about the blocking of several social media sites gripped the country’s capital a day earlier, and police opened fired on the crowds, killing 19 people. The ban was lifted Monday night, but the protests continued, with demonstrators setting fire to the homes of some of Nepal’s top leaders and the parliament building. The airport in the capital of Kathmandu was shut, and army helicopters ferried some ministers to safe places.
In the wake of unrest in Nepal, India has asked its citizens to defer travel to the neighbouring country until the situation stabilises. Air India, IndiGo and Nepal Airlines cancelled their flights from Delhi to Kathmandu on Tuesday amid the anti-government protests.
Meanwhile, amidst the ongoing violent Gen Z protests in Nepal, the Uttarakhand Police Headquarters on Tuesday tightened the security along the Indo-Nepal border, a press release from the CMO said. Pithoragarh Police, along with SSB personnel, are conducting regular patrolling and combing operations along the Kali River and other sensitive areas within the border police station jurisdictions.
