Nikita Gautam, 19, from Chitwan, was staying at Gaushala in Kathmandu. According to Manoj Gautam, a houseguest, she was sitting on the roof and watching the Bhadra 24 protest. At that moment, she was shot. A bullet fired from the police circle hit Nikita in the chest as she was sitting on the roof and died.

Dheeraj Shrestha of Tarakeshwor-4, Kathmandu, participated in the protest in Baneshwor on Bhadra 23. He had also left his home to participate in the protest on Bhadra 24. His father Narayan said that he died after being shot by the police of Balaju Circle. Narayan says that his son died after being shot in the neck by the police. 

An internal police report states that 25-year-old Sulabh Raj Shrestha and 19-year-old Shreyam Chaulagain died after being shot in the head in Baneshwor during the protest on Bhadra 23. According to the report, Iswat Adhikari, Saurabh Kishore Shrestha and Ayush Thapa of Banasthali died after being shot in the chest. The report states that Subash Kumar Bohara of Bajhang was shot in the chest and neck. On the same day, Rashid Khatiwada and Nishchil Saru Magar were shot in the stomach.

Sajan Rai of Sunsari was also shot in Bhaktapur Thimi. His family says that he also died after being shot in the chest.

Of the 39 protesters killed in the protests on 23 and 24 Bhadra, it has been confirmed that all of them were shot above the waist. According to the report submitted to the government by the forensic department of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, the deceased were shot in the head, neck, chest and stomach. 

22 protesters died on the first day and 17 on the second day after being shot by the police. Of the 35 people killed in the Kathmandu Valley, 19 were shot in the chest, 10 in the head, four in the stomach and two in the neck, according to the post-mortem report. Dr. Gopal Chaudhary, head of the forensic department of the teaching hospital, says, “Most of the deceased were found to have been shot above the waist. Many of them were shot in the chest, and some were shot in the head. One person appears to have been hit by three rubber bullets, while all the others appear to have been hit by metal bullets. In one body, we found three rubber bullets in the chest and neck.” 

According to the post-mortem conducted at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, all those killed by gunfire were shot with ‘high velocity’ (rifle and other lethal) weapons, says Dr. Chaudhary. ‘Only 1 to 2 bodies were found to have been shot with low velocity (pistol and other small arms) bullets,’ he says, ‘Almost all the bodies appeared to have been shot from a distance. If the bullets had been fired from close range, the skin and hair of the bodies should have been burnt, but that was not found.’ 

On 23 Bhadra, 22 protesters, 41 protesters, 10 prisoners and three policemen were killed  on 24 Bhadra, 41 protesters, 10 prisoners and three policemen were killed  The policemen died from beatings by protesters, while the prisoners were killed by gunfire fired by the police and the army as they were escaping. 

Four of the 10 prisoners killed were shot by the army. According to Nepali Army spokesperson Rajaram Basnet, the army opened fire to bring the prisoners under control after the escape intensified. "Two people died in Dhading and Ramechhap during that period," he said. He said that the police had to open fire after the prisoners started vandalizing and setting fire to the prison. Six prisoners were shot by the police.

Of the 41 protesters killed on the second day, 17 were shot, while 24 others were killed in incidents including arson. Seven bodies were found charred in the Bhatbhateni supermarket in Chuchepati, Kathmandu. Similarly, five bodies were found in the same condition in Dharan* and Bhatbhateni, Morang. However, the identities of these deceased have not been revealed even after a month and a half, so no post-mortem has been conducted.

The skeletons found in Bhatbhateni in Chuchepati have been kept in 7 plastic bags at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. Only their skeletons have been found and the cause of death has not been revealed, Kathmandu Police Spokesperson SP Pawan Bhattarai said. ‘These bodies are completely burnt. None of the families or relatives have come to claim them,’ he said. ‘We have sent them to the police forensic laboratory to see if DNA testing can be done, but no report has been received.’ 

Sunsari Chief District Officer Dharmendra Kumar Mishra said that the four bodies found in Dharan have also not been identified. ‘The bodies were found in a state of almost charred. So far, only one family has come to say that a relative has died, no one else has claimed,’ he said. ‘We have sent them to the Kathmandu police lab for DNA testing, but the report has not been received. Even though we came to claim one body, the report has not been confirmed.’ 

On 24 Bhadra, vandalism and arson began in police circles and units including Maharajgunj, Balaju, Swayambhu, Kalimati, Kalanki, Baneshwor, Durbarmarg, Koteshwor, Gaushala, and others before 11 am. However, since the police offices were burnt, the incident report could not be prepared and the exact location of the shooting could not be ascertained, said Kathmandu Police Spokesperson Bhattarai. “The family of the deceased has filed a complaint claiming that the shooting took place around the police circle,” he said. “We are analyzing it and determining the exact location of the shooting.” 

Former DIG of Nepal Police Hemanta Malla says that the police repeatedly repeat the same mistakes due to lack of adequate training and service specialization in the police. “The manpower deployed in crowd control should stay there for a long time, and those deployed in roles including crime investigation and traffic should have service specialization,” he says. “However, the current perception that staying in one place will ruin their career is the reason why the police lack skilled manpower to be deployed in the field.”

He says that the use of force in a protest that lasted for about 3 hours on 23 Bhadra, which left 22 people dead, is a serious incident. “The police are still using weapons used in war to control the crowd, which causes a lot of damage. The procurement of non-lethal weapons, including rubber bullets, has not been done for a long time,” he said. “Another important thing is how familiar the officers deployed in the field are with the weapons, which is a problem.” A senior officer at the police headquarters also says that the police did not intentionally shoot in the chest or head. ‘There is not enough training, the police are also not used to weapons, there are many examples of bullets fired from one side also hitting the other side,’ says the officer. 

 The Local Administration Act, 2028 envisages that security personnel can only open fire as a last resort in situations where peace cannot be maintained. But even for that, a warning must be given in advance so that ‘if the crowd does not move, they will be shot’. Even after giving a warning, it is said that an order can be given to open fire below the knees if the crowd does not move. But in the Gen-G movement, firing above the waist with deadly weapons has caused such a huge loss of life. 

The National Human Rights Commission has taken this seriously. A team led by commission member Lily Thapa is investigating the excessive use of force by the state. ‘After completing the initial investigation, statements are now being taken from the people involved in this matter,’ said commission spokesperson Dr. Tikaram Pokharel says, "From a human rights perspective, the incidents of shooting on the first day are more serious, and we are investigating them with priority." Pokharel said that work is being done to bring the commission's report as soon as possible, as its relevance will be reduced if it is delayed.