FILE - Leaders of Nepal Communist Party's (Maoist) Krishna Bahadur Mahara, left, Nepal Congress Party's Ramesh Lekhak, second left, and Nepal Communist Party's (Unified Marxist Leninist) Pradeep Nepal come out after a meeting of Nepal Cabinet ministers with the election commissioner, in Katmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, March 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Binod Joshi,File)
FILE -The then newly elected Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli greets after the oath of office in President residence in Kathmandu, Nepal, July 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File)
FILE - Leaders of Nepal Communist Party's (Maoist) Krishna Bahadur Mahara, left, Nepal Congress Party's Ramesh Lekhak, second left, and Nepal Communist Party's (Unified Marxist Leninist) Pradeep Nepal come out after a meeting of Nepal Cabinet ministers with the election commissioner, in Katmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, March 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Binod Joshi,File)
FILE - Khadga Prasad Oli, left, the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal leaves his residence to meet his supporters after being appointed as Prime Minister, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha,File)
Former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli is taken for procedural medical checkup after he was arrested by police in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Police in Nepal arrested former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli early Saturday over the deaths of dozens of people during violent protests in September that toppled the government and resulted in new elections.
Authorities arrested the powerful communist leader at his residence on the outskirts of the capital Kathmandu. They also arrested Ramesh Lekhak, the former home minister who has been accused of ordering authorities to fire on protesters.
Home Minister Sudan Gurung announced the arrests on social media.
“No one is above the law. We have taken former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and former home minister Ramesh Lekhak under control,†Gurung said. “This is not revenge against anyone, it is just the beginning of justice.â€
An investigation by a commission set up by the government called for punishment of up to 10 years in prison for Oli, Lekhak and the chief of police at the time of the protests.
Several trucks of police officers in riot gear conducted the arrests at the mens' homes before taking them to the Kathmandu District Police office.
The arrests come a day after a new government headed by rapper-turned-politician took office following a landslide win in parliamentary earlier this month by his Rastriya Swatantra Party.
Shah and Gurung have promised justice for those killed and wounded.
The election was the country’s first since the against corruption and poor governance on Sept. 8 and Sept. 9 that left 76 people dead and more than 2,300 injured. Angry mobs burned down the offices of the prime minister and president, police stations and the homes of top politicians who were forced to flee on army helicopters.
The demonstrations fueled by “Gen Z†activists forced the Sept. 12 appointment of Nepal’s , Sushila Karki, a retired Supreme Court judge who served during the transition leading up to the election.
The Associated Press
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