Just under 24 hours after an eruption of police gunfire led to the tragic deaths of 19 people outside the parliament, Nepal’s Prime Minister, K P Sharma Oli, stepped down from his post on Tuesday.
His resignation came as protests against deep-seated corruption and harsh censorship measures intensified, spiraling into the most violent disorder the serene Himalayan nation had experienced in years.
In a bid to restore calm, the Nepalese army declared it would assume control over preserving law and order from 10 p.m. onward.
Rajyalaxmi Chitra kar, the wife of former Nepal Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal, has died after suffering fatal burn injuries when protesters allegedly set her residence on fire in Kathmandu’s Dallu area, Indian media reported Tuesday.
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.
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.