Nepal’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Sunday arrested former energy minister Deepak Khadka in connection with a case linked to last September’s Gen Z protests, an agency official said.
Khadka was "arrested in a case relating to money laundering," CIB spokesman Shiva Kumar Shrestha told AFP.
The Department of Money Laundering Investigation will oversee the probe against the Nepali Congress leader, Shrestha added.
Meanwhile, home affairs minister Sudan Gurung wrote on Facebook that Khadka had been “detained today in connection with the investigation of the money recovered from his residence during the 9 September protest."
The development came a day after then-prime minister KP Sharma Oli and then-home affairs minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested over their alleged roles in a deadly crackdown on the Gen Z protesters.
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The youth-led uprising began over a brief social media ban but soon expanded to reflect long-standing frustration over corruption and economic hardship.
At least 76 people were killed in the crackdown on September 8 and 9, according to an inquiry commission into the violence.
Demonstrators set fire to the parliament building and government offices, eventually toppling Oli’s administration.
Khadka’s residence was set ablaze, and videos widely circulated showing protesters throwing cash found inside his home into the air.
An interim government led by ex-chief justice Sushila Karki took charge and governed Nepal until general elections held earlier this month, which the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) won by a landslide.
RSP leader, rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, formally assumed office as prime minister on Friday. Shah, 35, a former mayor of Kathmandu, had also been among the names considered to head the caretaker administration before Karki’s appointment. He also defeated the former four-term premier in the Jhapa-5 constituency, represented by Oli.
The Shah-led government has unveiled an ambitious 100-point governance reform agenda, including plans to form an investigation committee to examine the assets of politicians and senior state officials.
The agenda was announced on the same day Oli and Lekhak were detained. The inquiry commission had earlier recommended prosecuting Oli and other officials for “neglect” over their failure to prevent security forces from opening fire on protesters.
They have denied ordering forces to fire on demonstrators.
