Nepal: 19 Dead as Police Fire During Mass Protests Triggered by Social Media Ban
New Delhi: Police firing has killed 19 youngsters in Nepal during protests triggered by the recent ban on social media platforms in Kathmandu and other cities today, September 8.
Nepal's home minister Ramesh Lekhak submitted his resignation to Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli during a cabinet meeting this evening, the Kathmandu Post reported. The newspaper cited an unidentified minister who attended the meeting as saying Lekhak stepped down on moral grounds.
Young people who identify as 'Gen Z' – a term used to describe a group of people born between the late 90s and 2012 – have been up in arms against the Oli government's decision to ban social media platforms including Facebook, X and YouTube. The decision comes amidst a wider irritation with the government, political failure and alleged corruption.
Protesters shout slogans as they gather outside the Parliament building in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: AP/PTI
The Post reports that Gen-Z youngsters took to the streets in various towns including Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal, Bhairahawa, Bharatpur, Itahari and Damak. Other reports said the number of protesters was in the thousands.
Authorities in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu imposed a curfew in the early afternoon, but protests escalated nonetheless, spreading from the New Baneshwar area where it began, the report says. The area houses the parliament as well. AFP reports that some youngsters tried climbing the parliament walls.
A protester falls down during clashes with riot police outside the parliament building in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: AP/PTI.
The Post, meanwhile, reports that 17 have died in various Kathmandu hospitals alone, and two more died after being shot in Itahari.
Dozens are critically injured. "Hospitals across the country are treating at least 347 injured protesters," the report says.
Nepal's minister for communication Prithvi Subba told the BBC police had to use force – which included water cannons, batons and firing rubber bullets.
Last week, Nepal's government following a Supreme Court order decided to block access to major social media platforms that had not registered with the communications and information technology ministry in line with a 2023 set of directives.
At the time none of the large global firms including Meta, Alphabet, X, Reddit and LinkedIn had applied to register with the ministry. On the other hand TikTok, Telegram and Viber were among a handful of platforms that had registered or had applied to register.
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