Rabi Laxmi Chitrakar, wife of former Nepalese Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal, has died after violent protesters set ablaze the family’s residence in the Dallu area of Kathmandu on Tuesday.
Eyewitnesses said the mob trapped Chitrakar inside the house before setting it on fire.
She was rushed to Kirtipur Burn Hospital in critical condition but succumbed to her injuries during treatment.
Her death comes as Nepal reels from a second consecutive day of youth-led protests that have rocked the capital and beyond, despite the government’s reversal of its widely condemned social media ban earlier in the week.
The unrest has already left at least 22 people dead and more than 300 injured.
Demonstrators accuse the government of corruption, nepotism, and presiding over a deepening economic crisis.
Rights group Amnesty International has accused Nepalese police of firing live ammunition at protesters, further inflaming public anger. Videos shared online show petrol bombs hurled at the homes of senior political figures, including Prime Ministers K.P. Sharma Oli, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chairman of the Maoist Centre.
Major government institutions have not been spared: Singha Durbar, Nepal’s central administrative complex, and Sheetal Niwas, the presidential residence, were among the high-profile targets of the violence.
Faced with mounting chaos, 73-year-old Prime Minister Oli tendered his resignation on Tuesday, telling the nation it was necessary “to take further steps towards a political solution and resolution of the problems.”
The crisis has spilled far beyond Kathmandu, with protests spreading into other cities. Several government ministers , including those responsible for water supply, agriculture, and home affairs, resigned in protest over the state’s failure to contain the unrest.
As tension grips the country, both domestic voices and international observers are calling for calm, dialogue, and urgent measures to restore order.
