Pokhara, 15 Sep: On the second day of the Gen Z protest, some demonstrators brought a bulldozer to attack the District Police Office, Kaski.
The enraged crowd not only targeted the police office but also threatened to crush police officers by name with the bulldozer. When the situation became uncontrollable, the police withdrew. The protesters then set fire to the police office and completely destroyed it.
After the bulldozer attack on the police office gate, everyone from the SP of the District Police Office to the staff scattered. The demonstrators demolished the police beat, freed the detainees from the holding cells, and set fire to all structures, including the women and children’s cell, waiting area, and other facilities.
Not stopping there, the protesters also carried away police weapons. They took out bullets and ammunition as well. Some threw the weapons into the fire, while others carried them away. The police have not yet confirmed how many weapons were looted and how many were destroyed. Through public announcements, the police are calling on people to return the weapons and other seized equipment.
The protesters set fire to the police office itself, the very institution regarded as the main body responsible for maintaining public security, peace, and the rule of law. The bulldozer used to burn down the police office had been seized from the Heavy Equipment Office in Pokhara.
A group of protesters, who had been setting fire to government structures across Pokhara, also targeted the Heavy Equipment Office. They torched the office, documents, dump trucks, and other vehicles. They searched for young men who could operate the bulldozers, snatched the keys, and took control. According to police, they drove two bulldozers and a loader around the streets before setting them ablaze.
Another group from the royalist side found out
The group that brought the bulldozer went straight to Prithvi Chowk and demolished the statue of Martyr Lakhan. Witnessing this, another group realized that the attackers were from the royalist faction.
A group of protesters, who had been setting fire to government structures in Pokhara, reached the Heavy Equipment Office. They torched the office, documents, dump trucks, and other vehicles. They searched for youths who knew how to operate bulldozers and snatched the keys from them. According to police, the protesters took out two bulldozers and one loader, drove them around the streets, and later set them on fire.
The bulldozer taken from the office was driven straight to Prithvi Chowk. There, the protesters rammed it into the statue of Nepal’s first martyr, Lakhan Thapa, which had been erected during the Second People’s Movement. Lakhan Thapa was captured and executed by the then-Rana rulers at the age of about 25 for fighting against their regime.
which group was it that drove the bulldozer against the police
So far, the police have not identified which group used the bulldozer against them, nor have they discovered who the driver was. According to officials, a detailed investigation is underway. Police believe that once this group is tracked down and arrested, the perpetrators behind many of the killings, violence, vandalism, and arson incidents in Pokhara will also be revealed.
Although protests intensified in major cities across the country, the incident of using a bulldozer to attack security personnel occurred only in Pokhara. The protesters there attempted to drive the bulldozer directly at the police deployed for security.
“It is normal for clashes between police and protesters to involve stone-pelting, but the group that came with a bulldozer to attack the police clearly had the intention of carrying out a massacre,” said one police official.
The Gen Z youths participating in the protest have stated that they did not intend to carry out such a massacre. However, incidents did occur, including driving a bulldozer at the police, ramming the statue of Martyr Lakhan Thapa at Prithvi Chowk with a bulldozer, and attacking police beats with bulldozers. Some Gen Z protesters claim that it was groups who infiltrated the protest for political gain who were responsible for the arson, bulldozer attacks, vandalism, and killings. They are demanding a proper and thorough investigation to hold those responsible accountable, as well as an investigation into government-led repression during the protests.
