Former Kathmandu Chief District Officer Chhabi Rijal Arrested Over 'Gen-Z' Protests Investigation

Kathmandu. Chhabi Rijal, who was the Chief District Officer (CDO) of Kathmandu during the Gen-Z protests, has been arrested by the police. A high-ranking police official told Ratopati that he was arrested from Subidhanagar.

The high-level investigation commission formed to probe the Gen-Z demonstrations had indicted Chhabi Rijal, the then CDO of Kathmandu, and recommended filing a case against him. He was the Chief District Officer of Kathmandu when the demonstrations took place on Bhadra 23 and 24.

Rijal has been heavily criticized for allegedly ordering the shooting that resulted in the deaths of teenagers in Baneshwor. However, in his statement to the commission led by Gauribahadur Karki, Rijal stated that he did not order the firing of lethal weapons. Following the cabinet's decision to implement the Karki Commission's report, former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and then Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak were previously arrested.