Kathmandu, 9 Sep: A memorial ceremony was organized in front of the old Parliament building in New Baneshwor on Tuesday to mark Gen Z Martyrs’ Day. The ceremony was held exactly one year after the Gen Z movement that took place on the same day last year. Leaders and lawmakers of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), as well as ministers, were present at the event.
Home Minister Sudhan Gurung attended the ceremony as the chief guest. Law Minister Sobita Gautam, Minister Mahabir Pun, Minister Sunil Lamsal, RSP lawmakers, former Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal, and others were also present. Families and relatives of the Gen Z martyrs, as well as Gen Z movement leaders, attended the ceremony.
However, two controversial figures also attended the memorial ceremony, which brought together the relatives of martyrs, injured Gen Z protesters, ministers and others. They had not come merely as participants; they were seated as guests in the front row of the stage alongside the Home Minister and the Minister for Physical Infrastructure.
Meanwhile, other ministers, lawmakers and even former Home Minister Aryal were seated behind these two controversial figures.
The two controversial individuals who attended the Gen Z memorial ceremony as guests were Vijay Bhandari and Shrinivas Acharya.
Vijay Bhandari, also known as Balayogeshwor Vijay Krishnamurti, who describes himself as a spiritual leader, and Shrinivas Acharya received considerable respect and hospitality at the Gen Z memorial ceremony. They even extended their assistance to Home Minister Gurung while he was lighting the ceremonial lamp.
The pasts of both individuals, who attended the Gen Z memorial ceremony as guests, are highly controversial.
Two years ago, in August 2024, Bhandari was the sole organizer of a month-long Kotihom religious event held at Pashupatinath. The event became the subject of a major controversy over the money collected during the religious ceremony.
At the time, there was widespread criticism after journalists who had gone to report on the event were reportedly denied entry and attacked.
Bhandari had also been involved in another major controversy during a Mahayagya held in Pokhara. He came under criticism after branches of trees located along roads and at historic resting places in Pokhara were cut down in connection with preparations for the religious event.
Moreover, several cases had been filed against Bhandari. Vijay Bhandari, who had allegedly been defrauding members of the public under the guise of religion for 15 years, had been facing a fraud case for nearly a decade. Even after the case was settled through a compromise in November 2024, after he agreed to return the money to the victims, allegations surrounding his activities did not end.
The fraud case against Bhandari had remained pending at the Supreme Court for five years. On November 11, 2024, the case was settled through a compromise at the Supreme Court. He agreed to return the money to those he had allegedly defrauded, creating the basis for a settlement with the victims.
Bhandari, whose permanent address is Dhurkot, Gulmi, allegedly began his fraudulent activities in Kathmandu under the cover of an organization called the Human Welfare Spiritual Charity Association, Nepal.
After establishing the organization, he allegedly collected money from various individuals from 2011 onward by promising to send them to the United States under the guise of religious programs. He reportedly asked some people for advance payments of Rs. 100,000, while others allegedly paid as much as Rs. 1 million.
Based on complaints filed by victims, cases were registered against Bishnu Bhandari, his wife Sulochana Bhandari, and Kamal Paudel of Baglung, also known as Kamal Nayan Paudel, among others.
The alleged fraud that began in 2011 continued until Vijay Bhandari was arrested in 2014. Following complaints, police raided House No. 21 in the Chauni Housing area, where Bhandari was living. Police seized registers, cheques, donation receipts and other documents from the house.
It was also found that he had established a company called Dynamic Derimerim Investment Pvt. Ltd. Police considered receipt pads and other documents issued in the name of Arvind Yoga Mandir as evidence of fraud.
Kathmandu Police arrested him at the time and presented him before the court in connection with a case alleging that he had defrauded people of Rs. 127 million. During his statement to the court, he admitted receiving the money but claimed that all the money he had received was in the form of donations.
Even after facing a case in Kathmandu, Bishnu Bhandari allegedly continued his activities. In March 2019, he organized a Mahayagya at Runkhadaha Secondary School in Birbas, Gulmi Durbar Rural Municipality–4, claiming that the money would be used to construct a school building. Around Rs. 5 million was collected, but he allegedly left with the money without informing the school management committee.
Bhandari also faced another case on charges related to foreign employment. He allegedly collected Rs. 1.2 million from three people on the pretext of taking them to participate in religious programs but later failed to return the money. A case was subsequently filed against him at the Foreign Employment Tribunal.
On June 10, 2018, the Foreign Employment Tribunal sentenced him to one and a half years in prison and a fine equivalent to one and a half years. He was detained on multiple occasions—in 2011, 2014 and 2019.
The same controversial figure, Bhandari, has now attended a Gen Z memorial ceremony as a guest.
Shrinivas Acharya, who attended the Gen Z memorial ceremony alongside him, is also a controversial figure. According to a police investigation, Acharya went as far as allegedly having himself shot in an attempt to incite communal violence. He was subsequently arrested.
The incident occurred in 2018. After allegedly arranging for himself to be shot in an attempt to fuel communal tensions, the District Police Office, Morang, arrested Shrinivas and filed a case against him. At the time, he was charged with offenses related to arms and ammunition.
Arun BC was the Superintendent of Police in Morang at the time. Police investigation revealed that Shrinivas had allegedly asked Madhav Chaudhary to shoot him in an attempt to intensify a movement calling for Nepal to become a Hindu state. The alleged plot came to light after Chaudhary and Laxmiraj Adhikari were arrested. Shrinivas was subsequently arrested.
His arrests did not stop there. In October 2023, he was arrested in Sunsari after making a speech calling for the killing of those involved in cow slaughter. He was charged with an offense against public peace.
After being released, Shrinivas was arrested again in December 2023. He was detained after participating in a protest organized in Gaushala under the leadership of Durga Prasai and making inflammatory statements.
He had joined the protest with his supporters and allegedly made statements intended to incite the crowd. Police arrested him after his group, which had arrived carrying tridents, allegedly began attacking police officers.
Police said he was arrested after arriving in saffron robes carrying a trident, making inflammatory statements and attempting to obstruct the road. He was later released.
These same two controversial figures, who have repeatedly been involved in controversies, arrested and subsequently released, have now been given prominent positions and honors as guests at a Gen Z memorial ceremony.
At the same event, Home Minister Sudhan Gurung also issued what appeared to be a threatening warning to leaders of various political parties and some journalists, saying:
“There is still time. Correct yourselves.”
