Former Nepal PM Says Wife Alive But 'Critical' In BBC Interview

As protests escalated in Nepal, many took to the streets, with some torching buildings and damaging infrastructure. One among those buildings being burned was Former Nepal Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal's home.

On September 10, protestors set fire to the former PM's home in Dallu, before which he managed to narrowly escape. However, during the incident, his wife Ravi Laxmi Chitrakar was still home.

Soon after the incident, many media outlets began reporting that she had passed away as a result of the fire. The news quickly gained traction online, with social media aggregators amplifying the report without fact-checking it first.

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In an interview to BBC News Nepali on September 11, the former PM clarified that his wife was alive but 'critical'. Khanal detailed how the events unfolded on the fateful day while revealing that wife was on the ventilator.

He added that those who set fire to his home were around the ages of 40-45, not 'Gen Z' youth who are at the forefront of the movement.

The Himalayan nation of 30 million people was plunged into chaos this week after security forces tried to crush rallies by young anti-corruption protesters, culminating in widespread violence on Tuesday.

At least 51 people were killed in the worst violence since the end of a Maoist civil war and abolition of the monarchy in 2008.

The military took back control of the streets on Wednesday, enforcing a curfew, as army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel and President Ramchandra Paudel held talks with key figures and representatives from 'Gen Z', the loose umbrella title of the youth protest movement.

(With inputs from AFP)

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