Oli, Lekhak released from police custody

KATHMANDU: Former prime minister and chairperson of CPN-UML KP Sharma Oli and former home minister and Nepali Congress leader Ramesh Lekhak have been released from police custody.

The two were arrested in connection with the deaths of protesters during last September’s unrest.

According to the District Police Range, Kathmandu, Oli was released from Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment, and handed over to his family.

Similarly, Lekhak was subsequently released from custody at the Armed Police Force Nepal’s No. 2 Battalion in Kathmandu and handed over to his wife.

Police said the two have been freed on the condition that they will appear whenever required during the course of the investigation.

Oli and Lekhak were arrested from their respective residences in the morning on March 28 on charges related to the alleged use of force during the Gen Z movement, a day after Balendra Shah was sworn in as the Prime Minister.

Both leaders were on the recommendations of a high-level probe commission led by former judge Gauri Bahadur Karki, which was formed to investigate the incidents of September 8 and 9. The commission had held them responsible for the deaths of young protesters during the unrest.

Spouses of Oli and Lekhak had filed separate habeas corpus petitions at the Supreme Court, claiming that they were being held unlawfully. Although the top court dismissed both petitions, it issued a mandamus order to the police to complete investigations by Wednesday. The court had also directed authorities that the two should be released if the case if the charge sheets against them are not filed by that time.