Kathmandu, Sept 20:  Nepal’s ousted Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Friday denied giving any orders to shoot during the recent Gen Z demonstrations. He claimed bullets were fired at protesters from automatic guns not possessed by the police and urged an investigation into the matter.

In his first public statement since being removed from office on September 9, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) chairman blamed infiltrators for the violence during the “peaceful protest” led by Gen-Z.

“The government didn’t order to shoot at the demonstrators,” 73-year-old Oli said in a message on Constitution Day. “The bullets were fired at the protesters from automatic guns, which were not possessed by the police personnel, and this must be investigated,” he added.

Seventy-four people, including three policemen, were killed during the youth-led protests on September 8 and 9, which were against corruption and a ban on social media.

Claiming there was “infiltration” in the “peaceful protests,” Oli said, “The infiltrating conspirators turned the agitation violent, and this way our youths were killed.” Expressing grief over the loss of lives, he demanded an inquiry into the incident.

“The Singhdurbar Secretariat and Supreme Court were set on fire, Nepal’s map was burnt, and many important government buildings were destroyed after I resigned from the post,” he said. “I don’t want to elaborate on the conspiracies behind these incidents; time will speak for itself,” he added.

Oli also recalled the challenges faced during the Constitution’s promulgation. “The Constitution was promulgated in the midst of a border blockade and challenges against national sovereignty,” he said. “All generations of Nepalis must unite – to confront the assault on our sovereignty and to defend our Constitution,” he added.

After the Gen-Z protests turned violent, Oli flew to army barracks, probably in the Shivapuri forest area north of Kathmandu, even as he quit on September 9. He stayed under the Nepal Army’s protection for nine days before moving to a private location. Reports say he is now at a private house in the Gundu area of Bhaktapur district, 15 km east of Kathmandu.

During the second day of the protest, Gen-Z protesters burnt his house at Balkot, Bhaktapur. Oli was at the official PM residence when protesters partially set fire to the Prime Minister’s Office at Balkot. He safely escaped with army help, who sent a helicopter for his rescue.

Nepal observes its 10th Constitution Day on Friday. Prime Minister Sushila Karki said protecting and implementing the Constitution adopted 10 years ago is the responsibility of all Nepalis. She stressed that democracy is about dialogue and finding solutions.

Karki spoke at the main Constitution Day event, also the National Day, though celebrations were scaled down as the country mourned the 72 people killed during Gen-Z protests, which led to the regime change last week.

Nepal’s Constituent Assembly delivered the Constitution on Asoj 3, 2072 Bikram Samvat, or September 20, 2015, years after the monarchy was abolished.

“Listening to the voice of the people is the soul of democracy,” said Karki, Nepal’s first woman prime minister.