Gen Z protest BIG UPDATE: Nepal’s Interim government forms high-level probe panel to investigate violence, deaths

Kathmandu: In a major development, Nepal’s interim government on Sunday announced a high-level judicial inquiry commission to investigate the deaths, violence, and destruction that had taken place d

Kathmandu: In a major development, Nepal’s interim government on Sunday announced a high-level judicial inquiry commission to investigate the deaths, violence, and destruction that had taken place during the massive Gen-Z movement. A crucial meeting of the Council of Ministers was held today, during which it was decided to form a three-member high-level judicial inquiry commission that will investigate deaths and destruction during the protests. Nepal’s Home Minister, Om Prakash Aryal, stated that the commission will be led by former Special Court Chair and retired High Court judge Gauri Bahadur Kaki.

“A principled agreement to establish the inquiry body had already been made in last week’s Cabinet session. Final endorsement about the formation of the commission and the members was made today,” Aryal said.

Who Has Been Included In The Commission?

The minister stated that the commission also includes former Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Nepal Police Bigyan Raj Sharma and advocate Bishweshwor Prasad Bhandari as members. Formed under the Commission of Inquiry Act, the commission has been given a tenure of three months to complete its investigation.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Nepal’s interim government announced a three-member high-level judicial inquiry commission to investigate deaths, and violence during the Gen-Z movement.
• The commission will be led by former Special Court Chair Gauri Bahadur Kaki.
• The protests turned violent after police killed 21 demonstrators on September 8, with 39 total deaths reported in the following days.
• The government declared the deceased as martyrs, providing one million Nepali rupees to families, with an additional half a million approved in the latest cabinet meeting.

How Protests Turned Violent?

Tension flared in Nepal after police killed 21 protesting students and youths on September 8 while they were protesting in front of the parliament during the anti-corruption movement and the end of the social media ban. The following day, 39 people died, of whom fifteen had died of burns. The remaining 12 deaths were recorded till the seventh day following the violence.

The postmortem report of those killed in police firing in Kathmandu Valley states death due to bullet injuries to the head and chest. During the protest, police are only allowed to fire on the protestors below the knee to control the situation.

Deceased As Martyrs

The newly formed interim government, on September 12, had declared those who died in the recent “Gen-Z uprising” as martyrs and decided to provide one million Nepali rupees as cash relief to families.

In addition, the cabinet meeting following the induction of three ministers endorsed the proposal to give an additional half a million Nepali rupees to the families of those killed. This was the first Cabinet meeting after Sushila Karki was appointed prime minister on September 12.

(with agency inputs)