KATMANDU
\nA Nepali panel set up to investigate violence during anti-corruption protests in September last year has recommended that former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli be prosecuted for negligence for failing to prevent dozens of deaths.
\nThe report comes two days before rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah is sworn in as the new prime minister after winning a landslide in the parliamentary election following the protests.
\nThe panel held Oli, 74, responsible for not taking any action to stop hours of firing that killed at least 19 Gen Z protesters on the first day of the demonstrations that forced him to resign.
\nA total of 76 people were killed and 2,522 wounded during two days of unrest, the panel said in its report released late on Wednesday night. The government had earlier said 77 people had died.
\n\u201cAs the executive head … Oli should be held responsible for anything, good or bad,\u201d the report said.
\nThe report also held Oli\u2019s home minister, Ramesh Lekhak, and the then police chief, Chandra Kuber Khapung, responsible and said they should be prosecuted.
\nOli rejected the findings as unacceptable.
\n\u201cThe report is extremely negligent, character assassination and hate politics. It is … regrettable,\u201d the Annapurna Post daily quoted Oli as saying in its online edition.
\nLekhak and Khapung could not immediately be reached for comment.
\nLENGTHY JAIL TERMS
\nIf prosecuted as recommended by the panel and found guilty by the court, all three could face up to 10 years in jail.
\nBut legal experts said the government must hold criminal investigations before formally charging them in court.
\n\u201cIt is not a charge sheet and they cannot be jailed on the basis of this report,\u201d said Dinesh Tripathi, a senior independent lawyer.
\n\u201cThere has to be a criminal investigation by police … The government can file the case in the court only after that,\u201d he said, adding that the process could take at least a couple of months.
\nAnalysts say whether or not to take forward the recommendations is the responsibility of Shah, 35, and his Rastriya Swatantra Party.
\nThe panel also recommended action against dozens of other officials and security personnel for the crackdown.
\nFamilies of the victims of the protests have been demanding punishment for those who were responsible for the crackdown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KATMANDU A Nepali panel set up to investigate violence during anti-corruption protests in September last year has recommended that former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli be prosecuted for negligence for failing to prevent dozens of deaths. The report comes two days before rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah is sworn in as the new prime minister after winning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":538484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-538455","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n