KATHMANDU, Sept 10: The sky over Kathmandu was partially clouded on Tuesday morning by post-monsoon weather, which later turned dark and heavy by the evening as smoke from fires at major administrative, legislative and executive buildings — as well as residences of the president and former prime ministers — engulfed the valley. Hundreds of protesters set the structures ablaze in a wave of unrest that further ended the political legitimacy of the current government.
At least nine people were confirmed dead nationwide, including Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, wife of former Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal, who sustained burn injuries after her residence was set on fire. Three security forces were thrashed to death by the protestors in Koteshwar, while three protestors died in Kalimati and Thimi and two others outside the valley on Tuesday.
Protesters targeted dozens of VVIPs’ residences. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s house in Balkot was torched. Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, 82, and his wife Arju Rana Deuba, were both brutally assaulted by demonstrators before being handed over to security forces. Houses of former Prime Minister Khanal and Pushpa Kamal Dahal were also set ablaze.
Helipad to be constructed inside Singha Durbar
Authorities had imposed a curfew and deployed Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and Nepali Army personnel from early in the morning. However, crowds angered by Monday’s killing of 19 young demonstrators pressed forward, torching government complexes and private properties.
By noon, hundreds of protesters stormed the Federal Parliament at New Baneshwar, setting the building on fire. By evening, flames engulfed the Singha Durbar, the central administrative complex that houses key ministries and the Prime Minister’s Office. The neo-classical structure, reconstructed after the 2015 earthquake, continued to burn late into the night.
Judicial institutions were also targeted. The Supreme Court, Office of the Attorney General, Kathmandu District Court, and Patan High Court were vandalized and set on fire. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) was torched at around 7:00 PM, with arson incidents continuing at multiple government offices into the evening.
Videos circulating on social media showed protesters seizing automatic rifles from security personnel near Singha Durbar and the Parliament building. Other footage showed demonstrators throwing bundles of currency into the air, allegedly taken from officials’ residences.
Businesses and schools were also attacked. The recently opened Hilton Hotel in central Kathmandu, rumored to have financial ties to former Prime Minister Deuba’s son, was heavily damaged. Ullens School in Lalitpur, allegedly linked to Arzu Rana Deuba, was torched. Bhatbhateni supermarkets at Naxal and Biratnagar were vandalized and set ablaze. Kantipur Media Group’s headquarters was attacked, forcing Kantipur Television and its online platforms offline from the afternoon. The private residence of the media group’s chairman, Kailash Sirohiya, was also targeted. The headquarters of Annapurna Media Network in Tinkune was also targeted by the protestors.
Protesters did not spare the headquarters of political parties either. Central offices of the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre) were torched. Private residences of over a dozen political leaders were vandalized and several ministers were assaulted, with videos of some being publicly humiliated circulated through social media.
Nationwide, hundreds of arson and vandalism incidents were reported. With police and administrative institutions completely incapacitated, accurate data on damages remained unavailable till late Tuesday evening.
More than 2,000 inmates are believed to have escaped from prisons across the country, including over 900 from Kaski Prison and hundreds from Nakkhu and Central Prison in Sundhara, Kathmandu. Security situation in Kathmandu Valley and other parts of the country began returning to normalcy after the Nepali Army assumed command of the security situation along with Nepal Police and APF personnel after 10 PM on Tuesday.
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