Kathmandu, March 30 Protests continued in Nepal for the third consecutive day following the arrest of former Prime Minister K.P. Oli over the suppression of the Gen Z protests last year, even as authorities intensified their investigation against three former prime ministers over money laundering.
Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested on Saturday for their alleged involvement in suppressing the Gen Z movement on September 8 and 9 last year, in which 76 people, including around two dozen youths, were killed.
The arrests came after the newly formed Balendra Shah government decided to implement the report of the investigation commission into the Gen Z protests in its first cabinet meeting.
Hundreds of members of Oli's Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and their sister organizations and student wings gathered at the Naya Baneshwor area on Monday morning, carrying placards that read "Immediately release K.P. Oli" and "End the politics of revenge."
Monday's protest rally was comparatively peaceful, unlike the protests organized by the party on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, over a dozen UML cadres were injured as they clashed with riot police.
In another development, Nepal's Department of Money Laundering Investigation (DMLI) and Nepal police have intensified their investigation against former prime ministers Sher Bahadur Deuba, K.P. Oli, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal after the arrest of former minister Deepak Khadka.
Before upgrading the case to a detailed investigation, the department had conducted preliminary inquiries for nearly six months, according to The Kathmandu Post.
The investigation was formally intensified after discrepancies were identified during that period, prompting authorities to widen the scope of scrutiny, the report said.
Former Energy Minister and Nepali Congress leader Deepak Khadka, arrested on Sunday in connection with a money laundering case, was admitted to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj on Monday after complaining of health problems.
He was accused of receiving financial benefits in exchange for facilitating licenses and contracts for projects while serving as the Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation.
During the Gen Z protest last year, images and videos had surfaced showing burnt fragments of banknotes at the residences of Khadka and former prime ministers Sher Bahadur Deuba and Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
The findings were reportedly later confirmed through forensic laboratory tests.
