Nepal's former prime minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, was taken into custody on Saturday as police investigate whether he was negligent in failing to prevent dozens of deaths during Gen Z protests last September.
This week, a Nepali panel which investigated violence during the anti-corruption protests recommended that Oli, 74, be prosecuted for failing to prevent the crackdown on the protests.
A total of 76 people were killed in two days of unrest, which led to Oli resigning.
"They took him from his residence this morning," Min Bahadur Shahi, a senior leader of Oli's Commmunist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) told Reuters.
Police spokesman Om Adhikari confirmed the detainment of Oli and his home minister, Ramesh Lekhak.
Rapper-turned politician Balendra Shah was sworn in on Friday as prime minister after a winning the March 5 parliamentary elections.