KATHMANDU: Home Minister Sudhan Gurung spent the entire night at police headquarters directing security officials in preparation for the arrest of former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, according to high-level police sources told to Nepal News.

Minsiter Gurung was joined by Home Secretary Rajkumar Shrestha, Inspector General of Police Dan Bahadur Karki, Kathmandu Valley Police Chief AIG Ishwar Karki, and AIG Uma Chaturvedi. The officials reportedly held overnight discussions and issued field-level instructions to deployed police units.

Sources said Gurung instructed top police officials to ensure the arrests of Oli and Lekhak “by any means necessary.” The plan initially involved apprehending Lekhak from his residence in Katunje, Bhaktapur, followed by deploying a heavy police presence at Oli’s residence in Gundhu to detain him at an appropriate moment.

Separate teams from Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force were mobilized for the operation, which was led by the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office. Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Khadka personally led a team to Oli’s residence in Gundhu. Oli was arrested after being presented with an arrest warrant.

The arrest warrant had been issued earlier on Saturday by the District Police Range, Kathmandu. According to sources, during the meeting at police headquarters, the Inspector General had requested a written order from home minister. However, Gurung reportedly insisted that verbal instructions were sufficient, stating that the directive came from Prime Minister Balen Shah and himself.

Following this, AIG Ishwar Karki summoned SSP Khadka to headquarters and instructed him to form a strong team to execute the arrests. At around 4:00 AM, joint teams from the Crime Investigation Office and District Police Range, Kathmandu were deployed.

When Khadka’s team reached Oli’s residence, he was asleep. Police entered, presented the arrest warrant, and upon being informed, Oli cooperated and agreed to go with the officers.

Both Oli and Lekhak were arrested early Saturday morning on allegations of murder charges for their involvement in the suppression of Gen-Z protesters. They are currently being held in custody at the District Police Range, Bhadrakali, and will remain there pending further proceedings. Due to a public holiday, they are expected to be presented before the court on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Gurung has denied that the arrests were politically motivated. In a Facebook post, he stated that the move marked “the beginning of justice, not an act of revenge.”

“ No one is above the law. Former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak have been taken into custody. This is not revenge, but the beginning of justice,” Gurung wrote.