KATHMANDU – An investigative commission in Nepal has called for criminal prosecution of former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, citing his failure to prevent deadly violence during anti-corruption demonstrations last September.
The commission found Oli negligent for allowing security forces to continue firing on demonstrators for hours, resulting in the deaths of at least 19 young protesters on the opening day of anti-government demonstrations that ultimately toppled the administration in the Himalayan nation.
According to the commission’s findings released Wednesday evening, the two-day period of civil unrest resulted in 76 fatalities and left 2,522 people injured. Government officials had previously reported a death toll of 77.
The 970-page investigation report, written in Nepali, stated: “As the executive head … Oli should be held responsible for anything good or bad.”
The commission also determined that Oli’s interior minister Ramesh Lekhak and the police commissioner at the time, Chandra Kuber Khapung, should face criminal charges for their roles in the deadly response to the protests.
