Gen Z protest probe panel lifts travel curbs on ex-Nepal PM Oli after reply

The inquiry into last year's deadly Gen Z protests - which left at least 77 people dead and brought down Nepal's ruling coalition - took a procedural turn on Monday after the panel lifted travel restrictions imposed on former prime minister K P Sharma Oli.

The restrictions were withdrawn a day after Oli submitted a written response to the commission on allegations of the "excessive" use of force during the youth-led movement.

"The decision to lift the restrictions was taken at a meeting of the commission here," said Bigyan Raj Sharma, spokesperson of the inquiry panel.

The Gen Z protests, held on September 8 and 9 last year, were triggered by anger over corruption, nepotism, and a proposed social media ban. The demonstrations escalated into widespread violence, eventually leading to the ouster of Oli’s coalition government.

At least 77 people were killed during the two-day protests, official figures show. Of these, 22 deaths were reported on the first day.

In the aftermath of the unrest, a three-member inquiry commission headed by former judge Gauri Bahadur Karki was constituted by the interim government led by Prime Minister Sushila Karki to probe allegations of excessive force and rights violations by security forces.

As part of the investigation, the commission on September 28 last year barred Oli from travelling abroad and from leaving the Kathmandu Valley without prior approval.

On Sunday, a team from the commission visited Oli's residence in Gundu in Bhaktapur district and handed him a letter containing around four dozen questions related to the handling of the protests. The commission received a written statement from the former prime minister on the same day.

Oli, who heads the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN-UML), sent the reply a day before the commission decided to ease the restrictions.

(With inputs from PTI)