Nepal Police arrests royalist leader absconding since March 28 violence

Kathmandu: Nepal Police has arrested Durga Prasai, controversial businessmen and royalist leader behind the violence of March 28 in capital Kathmandu.

Prasai since the day of violence which resulted in death of two people had fled the country and arrested from Kakarbhitta, near the Nepal-India border.

"Prasai and his bodyguard has been arrested and is brought to Kathmandu," a release from the Nepal Police stated.

After arrest the leader was kept at the District Police Office in Bhadrapur and is on the way to Kathmandu.

Upon arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport, Prasai will be transferred to the District Police Complex and then taken to the Bhadrakali custody facility. He will be presented at the District Court for a remand extension through the District Public Prosecutor's Office.

Police officials have confirmed that Prasai will be investigated for crimes against the state, similar to cases previously filed against political figures like Rabindra Mishra and Dhawal Shamsher Rana.

The charges stem from the violent royalist protest led by Prasai and Nawaraj Subedi on March 28, which resulted in the deaths of two people and caused an estimated Nepal Rupees (NRs) 460 million in damages.

Authorities say they are preparing to demand strong legal action, holding Prasai accountable for inciting violence and causing significant public harm.

Nepal's royalist party, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), has announced a proposal to develop a new political system as it prepares to launch a capital-centric protest from the third week of this month. On Tuesday, at a show of power in Kathmandu attended by hundreds, the president of the right-wing pro-monarchist party, Rajendra Lingden, proposed a new system that would also accommodate the monarchy.

"The country cannot remain in the condition it is now. The country needs to move forward, but not through the way it is standing now. That's why the country demands a new agreement, and for that, a peaceful resolution through the consensus in between all the political powers needs to be agreed on," Lingden said, addressing the mass of hundreds of monarch supporters holding the national flag and placards.