Nepal's finance minister kicked & beaten up on the streets amidst corruption protests: India media

At least 19 people have been killed and hundreds more injured after anti-corruption protests erupted across Nepal on Sep. 8.

The demonstrations, mainly led by young people, were centred around frustrations felt by Nepali youth regarding a perceived lack of government action to fight corruption and increased economic opportunities, as reported by Reuters.

Nepal's government then implemented a social media ban on Sep. 4, ostensibly to regulate the use of various platforms for spreading fake news, hate speech and online fraud, BBC reported.

Among the platforms banned were Facebook, X, and YouTube, which are used by about 90 per cent of Nepal's population.

However, the protesters viewed it as an attempt to stifle the anti-corruption movement.

Anger was also fuelled by viral images of the children of politicians flaunting their wealth online, resulting in backlash against "nepo babies".

Amid the chaos, Nepal's prime minister has stepped down, and his house was looted and burned down.

The protests also claimed the life of Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, wife of ex-Nepal Prime Minister Jhalanath Kanal, after protesters torched his house.

She was rushed to hospital, but died of her wounds.

Finance minister attacked

Their finance minister was also set upon on the streets.

Bishnu Prasad Paudel, 65, was seen running through the streets of the capital, Kathmandu, with a mass of people swarming on him.

Indian media NDTV reported that Paudel was "chased through the streets" and kicked by a protester, resulting in him crashing into a brick wall.

He is seen being kicked by a protester, falling down, before getting up and running again.

Image via Twitter and Wikipedia