Nepal’s former interior minister questioned

Nepal's former interior minister Ramesh Lekhak yesterday gave evidence before an inquiry investigating the deadly crackdown during the September uprising that toppled the government.

Seventy-seven people were killed during the September 8-9 youth-led uprising triggered by a brief government ban on social media, building on public frustration after years of economic stagnation and allegations of entrenched political corruption.

Lekhak, 62, a senior leader of the Nepali Congress party, resigned from the powerful post on September 8, after 20 people were killed in front of parliament in the capital Kathmandu.

The unrest spread nationwide the following day as parliament and offices were set ablaze, resulting in the government's collapse. Lekhak insisted he had not ordered a crackdown and claimed he told security forces to avoid any casualties.

"I never gave any directive to use force during the protest," he told reporters, after recording his statement to the commission. "There is no legal provision that allows the home minister to exercise such power."

Lekhak will continue to give evidence today, commission spokesperson Bigyan Raj Sharma told AFP.

Sharma said that a travel ban on Lekhak, as well as ex-prime minister KP Sharma Oli -- who is yet to appear before the inquiry -- remains in force. Oli has accused the commission of lacking a "constitutional basis".