Violence escalated on September 9 as enraged protesters torched buildings, killed three police and burned six civilians alive. Security forces vanished during looting of 550 weapons, yet no officers face charges for the initial deadly shootings.

In a shocking display of police brutality in Nepal, security forces fired indiscriminately into crowds of young demonstrators on September 8, 2025, killing at least 17 people and injuring hundreds during peaceful protests against a government-imposed social media ban, the rights group, Human Rights Watch, has said.

The “Gen Z” movement, a youth-led uprising against corruption and digital censorship, turned deadly when Nepal Police and Armed Police Force officers unleashed volleys of gunfire without warning, violating international human rights standards. Witnesses described scenes of chaos outside parliament, where first-time protesters – many in their teens and early 20s – were shot in the head, chest, and abdomen while chanting for accountability and freedom of expression.

The protests erupted amid mounting frustration with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s administration, which on September 4 announced a sweeping ban on 26 social media and messaging platforms, including Discord, TikTok, and Facebook. Officially justified as a regulatory measure for unregistered apps, the ban was widely viewed as an attempt to muzzle online criticism of elite politicians’ lavish lifestyles, exposed virally by young Nepalis.

“This ban triggered us a lot,” one anonymous organiser told Human Rights Watch (HRW), noting how Discord servers ballooned to tens of thousands of members overnight, even as users bypassed restrictions with VPNs. By September 8, thousands converged at Maitighar Mandala in Kathmandu, marching toward parliament with placards demanding the ban’s repeal and an end to endemic corruption. The atmosphere was initially “joyful,” with plans to offer flowers to police, but it shattered around 12:30 PM when gunfire rang out.

HRW, which interviewed 52 witnesses including victims, journalists, and medical staff, verified videos showing officers firing from inside parliament grounds – just 40 meters from the crowd – and from street barricades. No warnings were issued, and there was no evidence of imminent threats to life, breaching the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms.

A 20-year-old university student, shot through the shoulder in a peaceful zone, recounted: “When I was shot, there was no violence. It was very peaceful. Out of nowhere, they started firing.” Her surgeon confirmed the high-velocity bullet wound, one of over 200 treated at Kathmandu hospitals that day. Among the dead was 17-year-old Shreeyam Chaulagain, a schoolboy in uniform shot in the head while clapping and retreating from the fray. Pathologists later ruled that 35 of 47 bodies autopsied over two days died from such gunshot injuries, underscoring the scale of unlawful force in Kathmandu, HRW has said.

As the sun set on September 8, Kathmandu’s streets ran with blood, but the violence spilled into September 9, escalating into widespread arson and mob attacks. Protesters, enraged by the killings, targeted government buildings, schools, businesses, and media offices, leading to three police deaths by beating and six civilians burned alive in a supermarket blaze. Security forces, absent during much of the looting – which included over 550 weapons stolen from police stations – later deployed tear gas and live rounds as crowds breached Nepal’s parliament. Nationwide, the toll reached 76 deaths, with 423 arrests by November 10, mostly for the second day’s chaos. Yet, no officers have faced charges for the initial shootings, fuelling accusations of a cover-up in this episode of Nepal police brutality.

From Peaceful Marches to Deadly Clashes in Kathmandu

The Gen Z protests, leaderless and digitally coordinated, represented a seismic shift in Nepal’s youth activism, born from decades of unaddressed grievances. Social media exposés of politicians’ opulence – private jets and luxury estates amid widespread poverty – had already simmered tensions, compounded by political gridlock and historical impunity for rights abuses. The ban, affecting apps used by 70 per cent of Nepal’s 30 million people for communication, was the spark. Organisers, drawing from global movements like Thailand’s youth protests, emphasised non-violence, but the state’s response ignited fury.

Eyewitness accounts paint a harrowing picture of the crackdown. At 1 PM, bullets whizzed past journalists near parliament; by 1:40 PM, a protester seven meters from police lines was felled by a leg shot amid minor stone-throwing. Videos captured two gunshots slamming into barricades, injuring 22-year-old Dipendra Basnet in the head as he sheltered with friends. Tear gas, water cannons, batons, and rubber bullets followed, hospitalising journalists and medics alike. One doctor at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital described treating “hundreds” with projectile wounds, while police stormed hospital grounds, baton-charging staff and patients. “It was a fiasco,” a retired senior officer admitted to HRW, lamenting procedural failures that left properties unprotected as mobs rampaged unchecked on day two.

Infiltration allegations added layers of intrigue. HRW sources pointed to hacked SMS messages at midnight on September 9 urging attacks, and Discord posts from suspected political affiliates directing violence – possibly to discredit the movement. This selective chaos spared some sites while torching others, including media outlets critical of Oli. The prime minister resigned that afternoon, prompting President Ram Chandra Poudel to deploy the army by evening and dissolve parliament on September 12. Former Chief Justice Sushila Karki now leads an interim government tasked with fresh elections, but trust in institutions remains shattered.

Indiscriminate Firearms and Impunity Exposed

HRW’s report, released November 19, 2025, labels the security forces’ actions as “unlawful,” with Nepali law requiring warnings even for authorized lethal force – a protocol ignored here. Indiscriminate shooting into crowds, targeting vital areas, contravenes both domestic codes and global norms. Hospitals like Civil Service reported 221 cases on September 8 alone, three fatal, with surgeons “shocked” by the bullet types. Broader abuses included detentions: 33 protesters, including one held by the elite Special Task Force, endured beatings, phone destruction, and death threats before release.

This isn’t isolated; Nepal’s history of protest crackdowns – from 2006’s pro-democracy marches to 2015’s constitution riots – has seen little accountability, breeding the impunity that emboldened 2025’s response. Journalists faced assaults, with kinetic projectiles and arson on news premises silencing coverage. Ambulances were attacked by both sides, exacerbating the humanitarian toll.

HRW’s deputy Asia director, Meenakshi Ganguly, warned: “The recent violence in Nepal included serious human rights violations, and those responsible should be held accountable, whether they are security forces or political actors.” The report urges forensic analysis of weapons and ballistics to trace the gunfire.

The Karki administration formed a judicial commission to probe the unrest, but HRW demands it be transparent, time-bound, and independent, covering force used, infiltrations, and criminal acts like arson.

HRW has demanded that prosecutions must span ranks – from officers to mob leaders – alongside reforms to curb corruption and bolster digital rights. Gen Z representatives, meeting Poudel on September 12, secured promises of elections and ban reversals, but youth scepticism lingers. “We won’t stop until real change,” one Discord admin vowed anonymously.