Nepal unrest: 2 dead, over 100 pro-king protesters arrested amid widespread destruction; here’s why

53 police officers, 22 Armed Police personnel, and 35 protesters reportedly sustained injuries during Friday’s incident (Image: ANI)

Nepal’s government is looking into the deadly violence that broke out on Friday during a rally organised by supporters of the former king, who are pushing for the restoration of constitutional monarchy, a minister said.

According to authorities, two people, including a television cameraman and a protester, were killed on March 28 while 112 (including 77 security officials) were injured after police used force to stop the stone-throwing crowd from marching towards the parliament building in the capital Kathmandu.

The protestors reportedly destroyed homes, shops, a hospital, a political party office, vehicles, and a shopping mall, and even stole a weapon from the police. “This is sheer vandalism, arson, looting and anarchy. It cannot be a protest,” cabinet spokesman Prithvi Subba Gurung, the minister of communication and information technology, told Reuters.

The unrest prompted authorities to impose a curfew and deploy the Nepal Army. So far, about 105 people agitators have been taken into custody.

What’s causing the unrest in Nepal?

-The pro-monarchists sought the reinstatement of the monarchy and a Hindu kingdom, which had been dismantled in 2008 under a peace agreement that ended a civil war lasting a decade and claiming more than 16,000 lives. They have been demanding the restoration of the monarchy since former King Gyanendra Shah appealed for support in his video message telecast on Democracy Day (February 19).

-The demonstration turned chaotic when Durga Prasai, the leader of the protest, smashed through the security barricade in a bulletproof vehicle and headed towards Baneshwor, where the Parliament is located.

-53 police officers, 22 Armed Police personnel, and 35 protesters reportedly sustained injuries during Friday’s incident. According to Nepal's home ministry, nine government vehicles and six private vehicles were damaged, as well as 13 different buildings, houses, restaurants and public places were set on fire by royalist protesters during Friday's demonstrations, The Kathmandu Post reported.

-In recent months, calls have intensified for Shah’s reinstatement as king and for Hinduism to be brought back as a state religion. Royalist factions accuse the nation’s leading political parties of corruption and poor governance, claiming that the public is disillusioned with politicians.

-“We need the country to return to monarchy and the king to come back, because the political parties and system have failed in the country," Rajendra Bahadur Khati, one of the participants at the pro-monarchy rally, told Associated Press. “When the source is so polluted the entire system has gotten rotten.”

-Massive street protests in 2006 forced Gyanendra to give up his authoritarian rule, and two years later the parliament voted to abolish the monarchy. Gyanendra, who left the Royal Palace to live as commoner, has not commented on the calls for the return of monarchy. Despite growing support, the former king has little chance of immediately returning to power.

-Meanwhile, Nepal’s former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has accused Shah of inciting violence on Friday. "Now it has become crystal clear that Gyanendra Shah is behind all these acts. Gyanendra Shah's intent is culpable. It was seen in the past as well as seen now. Now is the time that government take a strict action, investigation should be conducted to bring the criminals to justice and Gyanendra Shah now cannot be spared- given absolute freedom, it is unacceptable for the Nepali citizens and the government should be serious on this issue," Dahal told ANI.