KATHMANDU: Arjun Bahadur Shahi, who had been intimidating senior government officials under the banner of the “Gen Z” movement, has been arrested in Kathmandu.

According to Kathmandu District Police spokesperson SP Pawan Bhattarai, Shahi was taken into custody from Koteshwor on Wednesday evening. “We detained him from Koteshwor last evening. Further investigation is underway,” Bhattarai told Nepal News.

Police said Shahi is a fugitive facing multiple criminal charges, including fraud and banking offenses. He had also been arrested earlier in similar cases. The Maharajgunj Police Circle had launched an investigation against him after receiving a complaint from journalist Shreekrishna Phuyal.

Records show that the Department of Foreign Employment had previously detained Shahi in connection with a foreign employment fraud case and later handed him over to the police after completing its inquiry. The Maharajgunj Police Circle then forwarded the case to the District Government Attorney’s Office, which registered it in court. Shahi was later released on bail of Rs 30,000 in a separate banking offense case.

At present, three fraud and banking-related cases against Shahi are under consideration at the Kathmandu District Court. Despite these pending legal proceedings, police say Shahi had recently been visiting various government offices, using the name of the Gen Z movement to pressure and threaten officials.

Shahi’s group had reportedly issued warnings to senior officials—including Civil Aviation Authority Director General Pradeep Adhikari and Nepal Airlines Corporation Executive Chairman Yuvraj Adhikari—demanding that they resign if they “could not perform.”

Following the Gen Z protests that took place after Sushila Karki’s appointment as Prime Minister, Shahi was seen attending the swearing-in ceremony at Sheetal Niwas, where he was photographed raising his hand alongside Sudhan Gurung, the coordinator of the “Hami Nepal” group associated with the movement.