Police on Saturday evening detained three youths, including activists Majid Ansari and Sarishma Thapa, from a Kritipur-based holding centre following a dispute over the management of evicted squatter settlers.

According to officials, the trio was apprehended at around 5:45 pm by a team from the Police Circle, Kirtipur, for allegedly obstructing police personnel from carrying out a rescue operation of the evicted settlers.

“A group of activists started a dispute inside the centre, disrupting our rescue efforts,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Shiva Kumar Budhathoki, chief of the Kirtipur Police Circle, told the Post. “We asked them to clear the area, but they refused to comply, which prompted the detention.”

However, eyewitnesses and fellow activists contested the police narrative, alleging that the altercation began due to political favouritism.

Riyab Baniya, an activist present at the scene, claimed that tension flared after Ojaswi Thapa, an aide to Home Minister Sudan Gurung, was granted preferential access to the facility while others were forced out.

“He was allowed to remain inside the facility, while we were arbitrarily ordered to leave,” Baniya told the Post.

Baniya further alleged that police personnel used excessive force during the arrest, manhandling Ansari. “Majid has visible bruises. They assaulted him while dragging him into the police vehicle,” he claimed.

While Ansari, still in detention, could not talk to the Post, he sent some photographs that show his bruised face.

Budhathoki dismissed the allegations of police brutality, maintaining that minimum force was used to manage the non-compliant crowd.

“They resisted detention, so officers had to physically guide them into the vehicle,” Budhathoki said. “No excessive force was deployed.”

The police administration indicated that the detainees could face prolonged custody depending on administrative directives. “The duration of their detention depends on orders from higher authorities regarding whether to file formal charges,” Budhathoki added.

The incident follows severe waterlogging at the holding centre after torrential rainfall on Friday evening exposed structural vulnerabilities. The facility, currently housing displaced families from recent squatter evictions, suffered extensive inundation due to a flawed drainage system, leaving vulnerable settlers knee-deep in water and destroying their minimal belongings.

Critics have slammed the government for its lack of disaster preparedness and poor management of the displaced families. Activists had gathered at the site to protest the government’s failure to secure the temporary shelter.

They were demanding immediate relocation and better facilities for the affected families before the confrontation with law enforcement escalated.