Nepal unrest: Gen Z fury unseats Prime Minister; wife of ex-PM dies after home set afire

Less than 24 hours after police gunfire left 19 people dead outside its parliament, Nepal PM K P Sharma Oli resigned Tuesday as protests against corruption and censorship spiralled into the most violent unrest the Himalayan nation has seen in years. The Nepal army declared that it would assume responsibility for law and order from 10pm.

By Tuesday afternoon, protesters stormed the federal parliament building inside the Singha Durbar complex, shattering windows and setting fires in multiple chambers. Flames rose as young demonstrators danced and chanted. "This building never worked for us," said Mira Thapa, a 20-year-old student waving a Nepali flag. "Burning it down means we can build something new."


The fury spread to the homes of senior politicians. Foreign minister Arzu Rana Deuba, wife of former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba, was dragged from her residence and beaten by a mob. "They kept shouting that we had stolen their future," she later told aides. Deuba was also assaulted. Deputy PM and finance minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel was chased through the streets by protesters who kicked and struck him. Former PM Jhalanath Khanal's wife, Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, was killed after protesters torched their home.

Fear of crimes, further instability stalks Nepal

Party officials confirmed her death late Tuesday, calling it a barbaric act that reflected the dangerous turn of the movement.

Officials at the Civil Service Hospital in Kathmandu confirmed by evening that the toll had risen to 22, with more than 300 injured in clashes and stampedes across the city.

In a statement, the army warned that "taking undue advantage of the adverse situation, some groups have been causing excessive damage to ordinary citizens and public property, as well as engaging in looting and arson. To prevent such activities, the army, along with all other security agencies, will assume primary responsibility of maintaining law and order for safety of Nepal and Nepalis."

The bloodshed came three days after govt abruptly revoked a blanket ban on 26 social media platforms, a measure that had triggered the Gen Z-led protests. The ban, introduced days earlier under Oli's administration, was reversed after a night of emergency cabinet meetings, ministerial resignations and mounting international pressure. Home minister Ramesh Lekhak resigned "on moral grounds," acknowledging that the move had left nearly 20 dead. "I cannot continue in office when young people are dying in the streets because of a wrong decision," he told colleagues.

Oli, by contrast, insisted he had never supported the ban. "I was not in favour of blocking social media," he told reporters. Even as the cabinet scrambled to retreat, the clampdown on the streets deepened. Police acknowledged using rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse protesters outside parliament, while the home ministry confirmed that the army had been placed on standby. Curfews were extended across Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, and flights at Tribhuvan International Airport in the capital Kathmandu were suspended.

Symbolic targets were also attacked. Protesters stormed and set fire to the Hilton Hotel in Kathmandu. The luxury property, which opened only last year and is linked to political patrons, was one of the most high-profile casualties of the unrest. Elsewhere, crowds torched the headquarters of governing and opposition parties, vandalised the Kantipur Media Group building, and set sections of Supreme Court compound on fire. For many protesters, such attacks were deliberate acts "against symbols of privilege and impunity".

Chaos also engulfed Nepal's prisons. In Mahottari district, protesters and inmates breached the walls of Jaleshwar Jail, freeing more than 500 prisoners. In Lalitpur, the Nakhu jail was set ablaze and emptied, with opposition figure Rabi Lamichhane among those released. Police said he was handed over to his family after crowds massed outside demanding his safety. "The prison could no longer guarantee security," one officer said. "When the fire started, the priority was survival." Officials admitted they had lost control of multiple facilities, raising fears of a surge in crime and further instability.

Helicopters evacuated ministers from their homes in Bhaisepati as smoke rose over govt quarters.