Overview
- A 25‑year‑old ride‑hailing driver, Ganesh Nepali, poured petrol on himself after a dispute over a wheel lock placed by municipal police and later died of severe burns, triggering nationwide outrage.
- Hundreds of mainly young protesters and the Joint National Squatters Front demonstrated outside Singhdurbar and Maitighar over the weekend to demand rehousing for displaced families, the release of detained activists and police accountability.
- A temporary holding centre in Kirtipur flooded, forcing the evacuation of about 150 displaced people and prompting Gen‑Z activists to visit the site where police used baton charges, made arrests and injured at least one activist.
- After talks with Nepali’s family the government and Kathmandu Metropolitan City agreed to form an independent probe led by a former judge, suspend the metropolitan police personnel involved pending the investigation and open procedures for compensation and possible martyr status.
- The protests build on April’s eviction drive that displaced roughly 15,000 people from about 2,600 families and now pose a political test for Balen Shah by raising legal questions about municipal police powers and pressing the government to deliver lasting resettlement.