More than 13,500 prisoners have escaped from jails across Nepal amid nationwide protests against the government’s social media ban and rampant corruption, police confirmed on Wednesday.
The unprecedented mass jailbreak occurred as youth-led demonstrations turned violent, with protestors attacking prisons, government offices, and security posts. Nepal Police spokesman Binod Ghimire told AFP, “Three policemen died yesterday, and over 13,500 prisoners escaped from jails across the country.”
Soldiers have been deployed throughout Kathmandu and other major cities in a bid to regain control, as authorities work to track down the escaped prisoners. The prison breaks have intensified concerns about law and order in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people.
Chaos Amid Protests
The escapes coincided with some of the worst unrest Nepal has seen in two decades. Demonstrators set parliament ablaze and forced Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli to resign on Tuesday after violent clashes left at least 25 people dead, mostly young protesters.
Authorities are warning against further unrest, emphasizing that the combination of mass escapes and nationwide protests has created a volatile security situation. Soldiers are now patrolling the streets while police work to recapture escaped prisoners and secure critical government facilities.
Implications
The mass jailbreak highlights the extreme breakdown of order during the protests. Security officials have called it a historic challenge to Nepal’s law enforcement, with the sheer scale of prison escapes unprecedented in recent history.
As the country grapples with both political upheaval and a security crisis, the focus now shifts to how quickly authorities can regain control of prisons and restore stability while respecting the demands of a mobilized youth population.
