What started on Monday morning as a spirited Gen Z protest against corruption in the country descended into tragedy by nightfall, as police brutally killed as many as 19 protesters within hours.

The shock spread quickly across the nation. In ward 5 of Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City in Kailali, Soniya Joshi was scrolling through TikTok at around 9 pm on Monday. She suddenly froze. A video clip showed a protester shot in Kathmandu. Moments later, a photo surfaced in the comments.

Soniya immediately called her brother Prabin, in the national capital. “It was my uncle Gaurav,” she whispered. Her brother confirmed the blood-stained shirt was the one Gaurav had bought with him that morning. An ATM card bearing his name was later found at the hospital.

The siblings could not share the news of their uncle's demise immediately. It took until 6 pm the next day (Tuesday) for Gaurav’s septuagenarian parents—Basudev and Maya—to be told he was no more. “We could not gather the courage. Our parents and grandparents have not eaten since. How do we comfort them?” said Soniya.

Gaurav, aged 21, had finished high school in science at Dhangadhi-based Aishwarya Vidya Niketan three years ago and dreamed of studying in the UK after his plans for Australia fell through. His sister Ayusha had urged him not to go to the protest on Monday. He left his rented room at Koteshwar assuring that he would avoid protests. He never returned.

His family now demands that those responsible be brought to book, that Gaurav be declared a martyr, and his parents get state support.

In Kathmandu’s Balaju, former Nepali Army Major Ishwar Bahadur Adhikari had wanted to tag along with his 26-year-old son, Ishwat, to the demonstrations.

“He stopped me. He said, ‘This is our generation’s fight for a corruption-free Nepal,’’’ recalled the bereaved father.

Ishwat, grandson of former joint-secretary Bhim Bahadur Adhikari from Bhanu Municipality in Tanahun, held master’s degrees in English literature and Psychology and was preparing to study management in the UK.

“Now he is a martyr,” his father said quietly. “The whole nation cries with us.”

Ishwat’s elder brother Ishan, who had led the ‘Enough Is Enough’ youth campaign during the Covid pandemic, said the family was devastated. “Our mother has been weeping since the call came,” he lamented.

At Global College in Mid-Baneshwar, Principal Amba Dutta Joshi struggled to explain the death of 19-year-old management student Shreyam Chaulagain, originally hailing from Itahari in Sunsari.

“We had sent all students home in school buses once the protests were announced. Next, we heard, a boy in uniform had been killed. We still do not know how," he said.

Classmates said police suddenly fired as students were passing through Baneshwar; Shreyam fell before he could run. “Our children marched peacefully for the country’s good,” said a relative. “The state failed to protect them.”

Shreyam, the 12th grader, was rushed to the Trauma Centre but pronounced dead on arrival. The college has asked for a judicial investigation, punishment for those responsible, and compensation for the victims’ families.

Ward 1 of Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City in Banke lost two of its promising youths: Sulavraj Shrestha, 23, only son of Nepalgunj-based Bheri School proprietors Narendra and Bina Shrestha, and Ayush Thapa, 19, the youngest in his family, who was preparing to study in Finland.

Similarly, Niraj Panta, aged 48, originally from ward 11 of Bhimdatta Municipality in Kanchanpur district, was shot dead in Maharajgunj on Monday. Known for his social work and affiliation with the Patanjali Yoga Committee, Niraj operated a pharmacy for a long time. He built a home in Kathmandu while his parents stayed in Kanchanpur.

“They learned of his death only the next day (Tuesday),” cousin Lalit Panta said. Niraj leaves behind a wife, a daughter, and a son studying in the United States.

As of now, the death toll associated with the Gen Z protests and their aftermath has reached 51 nationwide.

According to data from the Ministry of Health and Population, of the 1,760 people injured, 322 are still undergoing treatment in various hospitals.

The protest, named the Gen Z Movement, reflected people's frustration over rampant corruption, unemployment, and migration pressures.

“My son wanted a different Nepal. If his sacrifice shakes the conscience of leaders, the nation he dreamed of will be born," said former Nepali Army Major Adhikari.

(Sudip Kaini in Kathmandu, Ranjana BC in Kailali, Samjhana Rasaili in Tanahun, Rupa Gahatraj in Banke and Bhawani Bhatta in Kanchanpur contributed reporting)