Nepal’s former prime minister K P Sharma Oli has formally responded to a probe commission seeking clarification on alleged excessive force during the Gen Z protests last year.

Nepal's ousted prime minister K P Sharma Oli on Sunday sent a written reply to a letter from a probe commission seeking clarification over the alleged “excessive” use of force during the Gen Z movement, an official said.

The commission had sought a response from the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) chair within seven days after delivering the letter to his residence earlier in the day.

The youth-led Gen Z protests on September 8 and 9 against corruption, nepotism and a social media ban escalated into violence, ultimately leading to the ouster of Oli’s coalition government.

“The commission sent a letter to Oli's current residence at Gundu of Bhaktapur district, 11 km east of Kathmandu, and got a written response from him on the same day,” Bigyan Raj Sharma, spokesperson of the commission, told PTI.

However, the spokesperson did not share details of the reply submitted by Oli.

Oli had earlier said he would not give any clarification to the commission, questioning its legitimacy.

The three-member inquiry commission, headed by former judge Gauri Bahadur Karki, was constituted by the interim government of Prime Minister Sushila Karki to probe allegations of excessive force and rights violations during the youth-led protests.

A total of 77 people lost their lives during the two-day Gen Z protests. Of them, 22 were killed on the first day of the protests.

The commission completed recording the statement of former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak about the same incident last week.

Gen Z protesters were demanding action against those involved in the excessive use of force, including Oli and Lekhak.