Kathmandu, April 5 Former Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak will remain in judicial custody for another five days as a district court here approved an extension of their detention after the police sought more time to investigate their alleged involvement in the crackdown on the Gen Z movement in September last year.
The Kathmandu District Court approved the extension after investigators requested more time following the expiration of the previous remand period, according to court officials.
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) chairman Oli and Lekhak were arrested on March 28 on charges of their involvement in suppressing the Gen Z movement of September 8 and 9 last year, in which 76 people, including around two dozen youths, were killed.
Separately, the Supreme Court will continue hearing two petitions demanding the release of the two leaders on Monday, as they could not conclude on Sunday.
Participating in the hearing on Sunday on behalf of Oli and Lekhak, senior advocate Lalit Basnet said that the report submitted by the Gauri Bahadur Karki-led investigation commission was "biased".
Basnet was participating in the habeas corpus petition that took place in the bench consisting of justices Binod Sharma and Sunil Pokharel.
The cabinet has no authority to decide about the arrest of any individual, he argued.
A probe commission formed by the interim government led by Sushila Karki to inquire into the Gen Z protests recommended legal action against Oli and Lekhak, holding them responsible for the deaths.
Oli, 75, is currently admitted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital as he is suffering from various illnesses.
The police have been recording his statements on the case from his hospital bed. Meanwhile, Lekhak's statements in the case are being recorded in police detention.
The arrests came after the newly-formed Balendra Shah government decided to implement the report of the probe commission into the Gen Z protests in its first cabinet meeting.