Nepal's former prime minister KP Sharma Oli has been taken to hospital following his arrest over his alleged involvement in a deadly crackdown on protests last year.
Oli was admitted to a clinic in Kathmandu as part of routine police procedure soon after his arrest at his home early on Saturday morning, officials say.
More than 70 people were killed, many of them protesters shot by police, during an uprising in September - sparked by a social media ban but fueled by anger over corruption and economic conditions.
Ex-home minister Ramesh Lekhak was also arrested on Saturday, after a panel appointed to investigate the unrest recommended the pair be prosecuted for criminal negligence.
Oli was admitted to hospital pending results from medical tests, considering his age and medical history of two kidney transplants, the hospital's information office reported.
The arrests came a day after the nation's new prime minister, 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician Balen Shah, was sworn in following an election triggered by the crisis.
They were arrested this morning and the process will move forward according to the law, Kathmandu Valley police spokesman Om Adhikari told newswire Agence France-Presse. Oli, 74, and Lekhak, 62, have not been charged.
Oli has previously rejected the findings of the commission, which also recommended the arrest of former police chief Chandra Kuber Khapung, calling them character assassination and hate politics. His lawyers stated that his detention was unwarranted.
Supporters of Oli's CPN-UML party have begun protests in Kathmandu after the party's secretariat decided to launch nationwide demonstrations.
On Instagram, new Home Minister Sudan Gurung, who was key during the protests, welcomed the arrests, asserting that No one is above the law... this is just the beginning of justice.
The unrest, dubbed the Gen-Z protests, was ignited by dissatisfaction over high unemployment, a stagnant economy, and corrupt politics, with at least 19 fatalities reported, including a school student.
Oli resigned on 9 September but re-contested in the election held on 5 March. Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party won in a landslide, achieving a rare majority in Nepal’s complex electoral system.
