Kathmandu, Oct 18: Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal has been pressuring top legal and police officials to move forward with an investigation against former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak over the deadly crackdown on protesters on September 8, or Bhadra 23.
Sources say Aryal met Attorney General Sabita Bhandari and her deputies on Asoj 26, urging them to start legal action before the high-level investigation commission led by former High Court judge Gauri Bahadur Karki submits its report. Aryal reportedly demanded arrests or at least formal statements from Oli and Lekhak, claiming there is enough preliminary evidence—police reports, site inspections, CCTV footage, and videos—to proceed.
Attorney General Bhandari confirmed the meeting, saying Aryal wanted “parallel investigations” besides the commission’s work. She added that Aryal emphasized moving quickly, citing available police documentation.
Following that, on Asoj 30, Bhandari held a meeting with Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chandrakuber Khapung, Kathmandu Valley Police Chief AIG Dan Bahadur Karki, and several senior prosecutors. During the meeting, Bhandari instructed police to start investigations based on complaints filed by victims’ families.
IGP Khapung, however, warned that complaints were filed from both sides—against Oli and Lekhak on one hand, and against the current Prime Minister, the Home Minister, Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, and Sudhan Gurung on the other—making it difficult to proceed without the commission’s findings. He advised waiting for the official report before taking action.
Bhandari continued to insist on immediate investigation, saying law enforcement must treat such incidents as criminal cases, regardless of political positions. She argued that investigators must determine whether Oli and Lekhak directly ordered police to open fire.
Bhandari said both the Attorney General’s Office and police agreed to form a joint working group to conduct inquiries into the Bhadra 23 and 24 incidents. “If self-defence was claimed, that must also be verified,” she said. “We should begin with available evidence and witness statements.”
Aryal’s push reportedly includes a demand for at least preliminary questioning or arrest of the accused, asserting that accountability must start with the September 8 incident.