September 9 has emerged as one of the most turbulent days in Nepal’s recent history. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli stepped down after weeks of youth-led protests, but the resignation triggered a spiral of lawlessness. Crowds torched parliament, attacked politicians’ homes, and then turned their anger toward Nepal’s prisons.
In Lalitpur, demonstrators forced open the gates of Nakkhu jail, releasing politician Rabi Lamichhane and nearly 1,500 inmates who poured out alongside him. The unrest quickly spread. In Kaski district, more than 770 prisoners fled, while another 127 escaped from Tulsipur jail in Dang.
In Kathmandu’s Dillibazar prison, inmates set fires and tried to break free, chanting slogans as the army moved in to seal the compound.
The escalating protests, which began as a movement against censorship has now created a dangerous vacuum of order. While young protesters hailed Oli’s fall as their triumph, the mass prison breaks and unchecked violence have left Nepal teetering on the edge of deeper instability.
