Kathmandu, 7 Oct: On Monday afternoon, a sudden hashtag campaign erupted on social media – #ArrestKPOli, #ArrestRameshLekhak.
Leaders of the GenZ Movement, who had spearheaded nationwide protests on September 8 and 9, launched the campaign demanding the arrest of the then head of government and others involved. As these leaders began posting strong messages one after another, the campaign quickly went viral. Soon, many others joined in, and the campaign began trending widely on social platforms.
Those posting under the hashtag stressed that during the GenZ movement on September 8, the state brutally suppressed protesters and many young people were injured. They argued that representatives of the then government must be arrested.
“Unarmed students demanding their rights were shot with arrogance and tyranny. Such authoritarian crimes must be accounted for,” wrote GenZ leader Raksha Bam on social media. “The one who mocked the Madhesh uprising saying ‘a few rotten mangoes have fallen,’ the one who ordered fire on unarmed young students during the GenZ movement, today still cracks jokes shamelessly. The murderers must be brought to justice.”
Similarly, GenZ leader Yujan Rajbhandari reposted Bam’s message, writing, “Every bullet will be accounted for. #ArrestKPOli.”
Another prominent figure of the GenZ movement, Sudan Gurung, coordinator of the group “We Nepal,” also demanded arrests and investigations into those in power at the time. Sharing a graphic reading “Arrest KP Oli, Arrest Ramesh Lekhak,” he branded them murderers. “Do or die for the nation. Let the trend begin…,” he wrote.
Other GenZ activists and ordinary citizens have also joined the trend. While the main target has been KP Oli, many have also demanded the arrest of then Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak under the same hashtag campaign. Platforms like TikTok and Facebook, through their algorithms, further amplified this content.
According to participants of the campaign, their demand stems from the state’s brutal killing of students on the first day of the GenZ protests. They are calling for an investigation into the incident and arrests of former government representatives.
Home Minister Aryal’s Reminder to GenZ Leaders
As activists and citizens continued their pressure campaign on TikTok and Facebook, government bodies remained engaged in investigations.
In response to the GenZ protests of September 8 and 9 and the failures during that time, the interim government—formed as a result of the movement—set up a probe commission under the leadership of former Special Court Chief Justice Gauri Bahadur Karki.
The commission is currently investigating the incidents. Yet, GenZ leaders continue to press for the arrest of key figures from the former government. A few days ago, they even reached Baluwatar, demanding the immediate arrest of then-Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, then-Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, UML politburo member Mahesh Basnet, among others.
In response, Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal argued that the guilty would not be spared but insisted the process must follow the system, not emotions.
Earlier, Onlinekhabar reported that Raksha Bam, Sudan Gurung, Pradeep Gyawali, Yujan Rajbhandari, Anil Baniya, Purushottam Yadav, Aditya Karna, Bhawana Raut, and others participated in that meeting with the Home Minister.
“The Commission Must Be Allowed to Work Independently”
Former AIGP Uttamraj Subedi warned that such pressure campaigns on social media risk undermining ongoing investigations.
He noted that since the government has already formed a commission, the body should be allowed to conduct its investigation into the September 8–9 incidents independently. The commission must also speed up its work and reach conclusions as soon as possible, he added.
“If the commission advances its work quickly, such pressures might not surface. That’s why it must move faster,” Subedi said. “The commission should be allowed to function freely. It needs resources, and all institutions must cooperate. That’s the main priority right now.”
But how much could a sudden hashtag campaign disrupt an ongoing investigation? Subedi responded: “If the commission is on one side and external pressures mount on the other, the investigation risks being weakened. Ultimately, everything must go to court. Evidence has to be gathered, and that’s the commission’s responsibility. So the commission must be allowed to do its job independently.”
