NEW DELHI, September 9. /TASS/. Protesters have attacked former Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal’s residence, setting it on fire, the Khabarhub news portal reported.
According to Khabarhub, the house was set on fire while Khanal's wife, Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, was inside. She sustained numerous burn injuries and was taken to a hospital in critical conditions.
Riots were triggered by the Nepalese government’s September 4 decision to restrict access to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp (social media sites banned in Russia since they are owned by Meta corporation classified as extremist by the Russian authorities) as well as other social networks that were not registered with the Communication and Information Technology Ministry within the required timeframe. On September 8, mass protests involving thousands of demonstrators began in Kathmandu and several other major cities in Nepal. The protesters, most of them being students and activists from the Gen Z youth movement, opposed the government's measures. The government deployed troops to the capital city to maintain order and imposed an indefinite curfew. The clashes claimed 22 lives, leaving more than 500 injured. The authorities lifted all the restrictions on September 9 amid continuing protests.
On Tuesday, Nepalese Prime Minister Sharma Oli resigned.