Nepal Protests Erupt After Self-Immolation and Mass Evictions

Protests have swept Nepal following a series of government actions that displaced approximately 15,000 people from 2,600 families during an eviction drive launched in April. The Government of Nepal defended the removals as land management, but the Joint National Squatters Front and human rights groups condemned the administration for failing to provide alternative resettlement. Public anger intensified after flooding at a government holding center in Kirtipur led to police baton charges against visiting Gen Z activists, which subsequently triggered further unrest and 26 arrests in Koshi Province.

The situation escalated further when Ganesh Nepali, a 25-year-old worker, died from burns after setting himself on fire outside the Department of Passports in Kathmandu. The act followed a dispute with municipal police who had placed a wheel lock on his motorcycle for a parking violation.

Prime Minister Balen Shah's administration established a five-member probe committee, led by Deputy Inspector General of Police Govinda Thapaliya, to investigate the suicide. While Home Minister Sudan Gurung stated the incident fell under local jurisdiction, opposition leaders from the Nepali Congress and the Nepali Communist Party accused the government of restricting civil liberties and ignoring the poor. The National Commission for Human Rights has since intervened to stop further evictions from holding centers without established alternative arrangements.