Nepal court grants 5-day police custody of pro-monarchists arrested after Friday's violence

Kathmandu [Nepal], March 30 (ANI): A Nepal court on Sunday granted police permission to detain 42 pro-monarchists, including Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) leaders Rabindra Mishra and Dhawal Shamsher Rana, for five days for further investigation following Friday's violent protest in Kathmandu.
Mishra is the Vice-chair of the right-wing pro-monarchist Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP), while Rana is a sitting MP from the same party. Along with the two senior leaders, 40 other pro-monarchists have also been sent into custody for the same period.
A bench led by Taradevi Maharjan extended the custody of all arrested pro-monarchists till Tuesday for further investigation.
Police have filed cases of Crime against the state to Mishra Rana along with 9 others along with organized crime and other cases. Other 31 arrested since Friday and Saturday has been charged with organized criminal nuisance.
"The preliminary investigation has found them to be involved in crimes against the state, which is why the custody period has been extended," Ramhari Sharma Kafle, Chief of the District Public Prosecutor's Office, Kathmandu, told ANI over the phone.
Those in custody also include Durga Prasai's RTF Commander Munindra Rajbhandari and royalist supporter Santosh.
The arrests were made after a violent protest on Friday in Kathmandu's Tinkune, which resulted in two deaths. Police have registered cases against the accused.
Other detained RPP leaders, including Swagat Nepal and Pushkar Khatiwada, were also presented before the court for an extension of their custody.
Khatiwada, described as a religious leader, was arrested from his residence in Imadol on Saturday for allegedly throwing stones at police during the protest.
Meanwhile, Durga Prasai, who was seen fleeing from Tinkune after Friday's events, initially went to his residence before going underground.
Nepal abolished its centuries-old constitutional monarchy in 2006 after King Gyanendra seized power and imposed an emergency, placing all political leaders under house arrest. The movement, referred to as "People's Movement II," resulted in bloodshed, with dozens killed in a crackdown on protestors by the government.
After weeks of violent protests and increasing international pressure, Gyanendra ceded and reinstated the dissolved parliament, marking the dawn of a new democracy, referred to as Lokantantra (People's Rule).
Formed in the 1990s after the lifting of a ban on political parties by the then-monarchical system, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has consistently supported the monarchy. It has participated in periodic elections and presented its demands.
In 2008, following the overthrow of the monarchy, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) secured eight seats in the Constituent Assembly out of the 575 seats in the parliament. In the 2013 election, it won 13 seats, but in the 2017 election, it fell to just one seat. However, it bounced back in the 2022 election, securing 14 seats.
Since its inception, the RPP has advocated for a Hindu state and the interdependence of monarchy and the state in the small nation nestled between two giants, India and China. According to the 2022 census, Nepal has a population of 30.55 million, with 81.19 percent identifying as Hindu. (ANI)