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Nepal’s former Home Minister Kamal Thapa and several others were arrested for trying to enter a restricted area during pro-monarchy protests in Kathmandu.
Former Nepal Home Minister Kamal Thapa arrested in Kathmandu. (Image: X)
Nepal’s former Home Minister Kamal Thapa and several others were arrested for trying to enter a restricted area during pro-monarchy protests in Kathmandu on Sunday, according to police. Pro-monarchy groups were protesting at the Narayan Chaur on the fourth day of the agitation.
The agitation was aimed at reinstating monarchy in Nepal and establishing it as a Hindu state. Nepal’s authorities on Friday had banned protests and public gatherings around the Narayanhiti Palace area in the heart of Kathmandu amid demonstrations.
Rajendra Lingden, president of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and a strong pro-monarchy advocate, was leading the protest when demonstrators attempted to breach the security barricade and march toward Baluwatar, the official residence of the prime minister, leading to clashes with police, according to Kathmandu Valley Police spokesperson Apil Bohora.
कमल थापालाइ घिसार्दै प्रहरीले नियन्त्रणमा लिएकाे छ ।भिडियाेः सामाजिक सञ्जाल pic.twitter.com/JdKXhJ6yPC
— Prakash Timalsina (@prakashujyalo) June 1, 2025
Thapa, the chairman of RPP-Nepal and former Nepalese home minister, was detained in the Narayan Chaur area for violating the restricted zone order declared around the Narayanhiti Palace Museum area, The Kathmandu Post reported citing police.
The pro-monarchist groups, including the RPP and RPP-Nepal, had launched Kathmandu-centred protest programmes from May 29 with the objectives of reinstatement of the monarchy and establishment of a Hindu state in Nepal. The protests had been peaceful until today.
About 1,200 pro-monarchy supporters, chanting slogans against the republican system and in favour of monarchy, participated in the protest, Bohara said. They carried photographs of former king Gyanendra Shah and chanted slogans against the Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli-led government.
In 2008, Nepal’s political parties, through a parliamentary declaration, abolished the 240-year-old monarchy, transforming the former Hindu kingdom into a secular, federal, democratic republic. However, in recent months, there has been a wave of pro-monarchy protests in Kathmandu and several other parts of the country.
In March, the Nepal government had reportedly initiated the process of revoking former King Gyanendra Shah’s passport over his alleged involvement in inciting pro-monarchy protests, after violence broke out between the police and pro-monarchy activists in Kathmandu.
(with agency inputs)
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
- Location :
Kathmandu, Nepal
- First Published:
