Report Says Former Police Chief Khapung Ordered Use of Lethal Force on Bhadra 23 Protesters

Kathmandu — In a stark and unsettling revelation just days before Nepal’s general election, a BBC World Service investigation has laid bare previously undisclosed details about the Bhadra 23 Gen Z protests, suggesting that orders to use lethal force against unarmed young demonstrators came from within the highest ranks of the country’s police leadership.

Internal police communications reveal that an officer identified by the call sign “Peter 1” – understood to be former Inspector General of Police Chandra Kuber Khapung  instructed officers to “deploy necessary force” shortly after a curfew was imposed, following the requests of the field officers to use lethal weapons, as per BBC report.

The chilling directive captured in a 41-minute video excerpt examined by the BBC is tied to the day’s bloodshed, when 19 people were killed, many of them youths in school uniforms participating in what began as a peaceful protest. Among the victims was 17-year-old Shreeyam Chaulagain, who was seen on video trying to walk away from the scene before being struck by a bullet.

The violence of Bhadra 23 did not end with that single day. The following day, Bhadra 24, widespread arson and upheaval erupted, as thousands of protesters vented their anger by burning government buildings, including the symbolic Singha Durbar  in Kathmandu. Over the course of the two days, deadly unrest claimed dozens more lives, far beyond the initial 19.

Amid public outcry, the government formed a high-level commission, chaired by former judge Gauri Bahadur Karki, to investigate the events of Bhadra 23–24, but its report has repeatedly been delayed. The commission’s term was recently extended yet again by the government, even though the deadline for submission has long passed — a delay that has sparked criticism and debate about accountability and transparency, particularly with the national election now just a week away.