Oli denies issuing shooting orders during Gen-Z protests in Nepal

The government didn't order to shoot at the demonstrators, 73-year-old Oli said in a message issued on the occasion of Constitution Day, said Oli

Nepal's deposed prime minister K P Sharma Oli on Friday denied that he had given any shooting orders during the 'Gen Z' demonstrations, saying bullets were fired at protesters from automatic guns that the police did not possess and called for a probe into the matter.

In his first public statement since his ouster on September 9, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) chairman blamed the infiltrators for the violence during the "peaceful protest" by Gen-Z.

The government didn't order to shoot at the demonstrators, 73-year-old Oli said in a message issued on the occasion of Constitution Day.

The bullets were fired at the protesters from automatic guns, which were not possessed by the police personnel, and this must be investigated, Oli said.

Seventy-four people, including 3 policemen, were among the dead during the youth-led violent protests on September 8 and 9 against corruption and a ban on social media.

Claiming that there was "infiltration" in the "peaceful protests", he said, "The infiltrating conspirators turned the agitation violent, and this way our youths were killed.

Expressing grief over the loss of lives, Oli demanded an inquiry into the incident.

"The Singhdurbar Secretariat and Supreme Court were set on fire, Nepal's map was burnt, and many important government buildings were set on fire after I resigned from the post," he said.

"I don't want to elaborate on the conspiracies behind these incidents; time will speak for itself, he added.

He also recalled the challenges the country had faced while promulgating the Constitution.

"The Constitution was promulgated in the midst of a border blockade and challenges against national sovereignty, said Oli, who did not appear at the Constitution Day event organised at the UML's central party office.

"All generations of Nepalis must unite to confront the assault on our sovereignty and to defend our Constitution, he added.

Oli had flown to the army barracks, probably in Shivapuri forest area in the North of Kathmandu, as soon as the Gen Z protest turned violent, even as he quit the post on September 9.

After spending nine days under the Nepal Army's security, Oli recently moved to a private place. However, the place where he is staying now has not been made public. According to media reports, Oli has moved to a private house in the Gundu area of Bhaktapur district, 15 km east of Kathmandu.

The Gen-Z protesters had burnt his house at Balkot in Bhaktapur to ashes during the second day of the protest. Oli was at the official residence of the Nepal PM when the protesters partially burnt the Prime Minister's Office at Balkot.

However, Oli safely escaped with the help of the Nepal Army, who sent a helicopter to rescue him.