KATHMANDU: The Gen-Z protest movement, which has intensified across the country against corruption and misgovernance, has turned violent with the destruction of residences belonging to top Maoist Centre leaders, including party chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.

According to figures compiled by the CPN (Maoist Centre), at least 19 senior leaders saw their homes attacked by protesters after demonstrations escalated on September 8.

Properties were vandalized, looted, and set ablaze both inside the Kathmandu Valley and in several districts. The party’s Koshi Province office was also torched.

Prachanda’s Khumaltar residence and his house in Chitwan were looted, vandalized, and burned to the ground.

Senior Vice Chair Narayan Kaji Shrestha’s Hattiban residence was also destroyed, while Vice Chairs Agni Prasad Sapkota, Nanda Kishor Pun, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, and Pampha Bhusal saw their homes severely damaged by arson and looting.

Other senior figures, including Deputy General Secretaries Barshaman Pun and Giriraj Mani Pokharel, Secretary Chakrapani Khanal, and central committee members Ganga Dahal, Renu Dahal, and Jeevan Acharya, were also targeted.

In several cases, houses were reduced to rubble, vehicles destroyed, and personal belongings looted. The Maoist Centre has described the attacks as politically motivated, claiming its leaders were singled out because the party has consistently opposed the coalition government of the Nepali Congress and CPN (UML), and has long advocated for a directly elected executive head—contradicting the current constitutional framework.

The party said the incidents mark one of the most serious escalations of violence since the Gen-Z protests began, underscoring the vulnerability of political leaders amid the deepening unrest.