Bhaktapur: The inquiry commission investigating the events of September 8–9, 2025, has lifted the travel and mobility restrictions imposed on CPN-UML chair and former prime minister KP Sharma Oli, a day after recording his testimony, according to reports.
A commission team visited Oli’s residence at his Gundu mansion in Bhaktapur to record his statement. Oli had earlier declined to appear at the commission’s office, alleging bias on the part of commission chair Gauri Bahadur Karki and questioning the panel’s impartiality. Officials said his testimony nonetheless needed to be formally documented.
Confirming the decision, probe panel member Bigyan Raj Sharma said, “The restrictions were removed after we received the written statement of the former prime minister.”
Following the visit, the commission issued an official notice to Oli’s residence, after which he promptly submitted his written testimony. During the course of the investigation into the violent crackdown on youth-led demonstrations, mobility restrictions had been imposed on several senior figures, including Oli, then Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, and other top officials. Restrictions on other officials were lifted soon after their statements were recorded.
The three-member inquiry commission, headed by former judge Gauri Bahadur Karki, was constituted to investigate allegations of political mismanagement, excessive use of force, and human rights violations during the Gen Z-led uprising, which claimed 77 lives, including 19 fatalities on the first day of protests.
On the same day his restrictions were lifted, Oli also appeared in person before the National Human Rights Commission to record his statement. During a question-and-answer session lasting over two and a half hours, he reportedly denied any direct role in ordering police to open fire on protesters. Oli maintained that a prime minister does not issue operational commands to the police, sources familiar with the proceedings said.
The inquiry into one of Nepal’s deadliest protest movements in recent years remains ongoing, with the commission expected to submit its findings in the coming months.
