Shot down to protest against corruption

“Everyone said a rubber ball, a rubber ball. It was not a rubber ball. If you see my son, his head was broken, a hole is there.”

Narendra Shrestha wants to know who will take responsibility for the death of his son Salov, who was one of the scores killed in violent troubles that rocked Nepal last week.

Mr. Shrestha, 45, is perched outside the doors of the morgue of the University Hospital of Tribhuvan University in the capital. He is already inside and has identified the body of Salov, 21.

“I want to ask this country,” he said, stifling tears, “if they can shoot, they can shoot my son, then me and his mother, we would stand too. Who will we live for the moment? We also want to die.”

A family member sits next to him, holding his hand, while a man protects him from the swinging sun with an umbrella.

Other families were also waiting to identify their young relatives whose life was interrupted: one had dreamed of being a judge, another was a student working in a hotel in Katmandu, a third party learned French.

They are part of more than 70 people who died during anti-corruption demonstrations at the start of last week, which overthrew the government of the Himalayan nation. More than 1,000 were injured during the two days of trouble.

The prohibition of social media has been the momentum for demonstrations, but anger at government corruption has been strengthened in recent weeks. As the ban was reversed late on Monday, September 8, the demonstrations had swollen in a broader movement.

Crowds set fire to the houses of politicians and official buildings as a sampling of anger against the ruling class ending.

Many of those who were killed were killed – the police are accused of opening fire on the crowd. But others were burned in fires or died in confrontation with the police. Victim figures have increased while the authorities clean the debris.

In response to allegations, Nepal police said they would investigate what happened during these two days of violent protests. We still don’t know who gave security forces to open fire.

There are several families like Mr. Shrestha who wait outside the morgue so that their name is called so that they can identify the bodies.

A man, Rasik KC, awaits the body of his 22 -year -old nephew, Rashik Khatiwada.

Rashik was shot dead twice, said Mr. KC. He discovered death after seeing clips on social networks.

His anxiety has now been angry, demanding a kind of responsibility from the government.

“We want justice,” he said.

The BBC has spoke with more than a dozen people who lost family members during the demonstrations.

Relatives of Subash Bohora, 21, said that there was a time in his life when he wanted to be a judge. He died outside the Building of the Parliament of Nepal after a ball pierced his neck.

Ayush Thapa, 19, was a French student who was interested in the British army and hated Nepalese politicians, said his family. He was shot in the chest.

Abishek Chaulagain, 22, was a student working in one of the hotels in the capital when he was shot in the front.

“We had never met a disaster like this,” said Ranjana Nepal, information manager at the Katmandu public service hospital. She says they have treated more than 450 patients in their emergency room during demonstrations. Six people died.

“Our hospital (east) in activity for 17 years. We were able to manage the patients during the earthquake. (This situation was worse.”

The first night of the demonstrations, Dr. Santosh Paudel worked at Bir hospital, not far from Parliament. Of the 173 patients that his team treated in the hospital emergency district, five died and four are still in critical condition.

Dr. Paudel says he was surprised to see patients with “sharp rifle injuries” in addition to rubber bullets.

“We have seen (two types of bullets) clearly, along, which is pulled by hunting rifles, and the little ones with the pointed edge which is fired from rifles,” said Dr. Paudel. He said that many patients who came later in the day had several bullet injuries.

Demonstrations started last Monday, thousands of people took into account a call for demonstrators describing themselves as a generation Z to meet near the Parliament in Katmandu for the decision to ban platforms, including Facebook, X and Youtube, as well as for a broader dissatisfaction with the government.

The ministers said the police should use force, which included water cannons, batons and rubber bullets.

By saying that they had failed to register locally, the government announced that social media platforms should be regulated to fight against false news, hatred speeches and online fraud.

But popular platforms such as Instagram have millions of users in Nepal, who count on them for entertainment, news and business – and demonstrators have accused the government of trying to silence them.

Tuesday, violent crowds set fire to government buildings in the capital Kathmandu.

Parliament was burnt down even if Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had already resigned.

The new interim Prime Minister of Nepal, Sushila Karkki, has a difficult route to come. Not only must the former 73 -year -old chief judge appoint a new cabinet, but it must rebuild trust in the direction of the country.

She accepted new elections on March 5, 2026, but the first real test of her new government will be her investigation into demonstrations and if she can bring the authors of fatal violence – including those who have shot the demonstrators, as well as those behind widespread vandalism – in court.

“International law says that they are not allowed to shoot,” said Abishek Shrestha, 22, from his hospital bed, his house for next month. The metal stems exceed the white gauze and pink wrapped around its right leg, where it was shot.

“I am a Nepalese and they are not allowed to shoot me, but they pulled me. It is because of the government, the police, the rules and the regulations. We must change this.”

An investigation is little comfort for Mr. Shrestha while he cries Sulov.

“Politicians, they will say sorry. Sorry, don’t make a dead son live.”

Additional report by Charlotte Scarr