Former prime minister KP Sharma Oli has claimed that automatic weapons that the police do not possess were used to fire at protestors during the recent demonstrations by Gen Z youths in Kathmandu.
Gen Z youths protested across Kathmandu and the country on September 8 and 9 against corruption and the ban on social media.
On September 8, 17 people were killed in Kathmandu alone.
At that time, Oli was the prime minister.
Referring to the incident, Oli, who is also the chairman of the CPN-UML, alleged 11 days after the event that automatic weapons that are not used by the police were used to fire at the protestors.
"The government did not issue orders to shoot at the protestors. The incident of firing with automatic weapons, which the police do not have, must be investigated," Oli said in a statement issued on Friday.
Although former PM Oli claimed that automatic weapons were used, he has not provided further details on what evidence or basis he made this claim.
Security forces have also not publicly stated that automatic weapons were used to fire at protestors.
Additionally, Oli said that no orders were given to shoot at the protestors during the demonstration on September 8.
During the protest called by Gen Z on September 8, 17 people were killed when security forces opened fire on demonstrators who had reached the front of the Parliament building.
Oli claimed that after he resigned as prime minister, Singha Durbar, the Parliament building, and the homes of party leaders and workers were selectively set on fire. Oli resigned as prime minister on September 9. Immediately after, he was placed under the protection of the Nepal Army.
Oli emerged from army protection on Thursday. protestors had also set fire to his residence in Balkot. He has now started living in a rented house in Gundu, Bhaktapur.
Oli was also absent from an event organized on Friday at the party’s central office in Chyasal on the occasion of Constitution Day.
