As the nation debates reform, the homes of the fallen remain haunted by the cost of courage.
KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 6
The framed photo of 38-year-old Sauran Kishor Shrestha rests in the trembling hands of his wife, Rojita Shrestha, at their home in Dhungedhara, Kathmandu, Nepal, on Monday, October 6, 2025.
Tears fall as she clutches the picture of her late husband, a man who had once dreamed of building a better life in his own country.
After spending five years working in South Korea, Sauran returned to Nepal, determined to start a small business and raise his six-year-old son, Shreyan, close to family. But those dreams were shattered on September 8, when two bullets pierced his chest near the Federal Parliament during the Gen Z protest, a youth-led movement demanding justice and reform against corruption in the government led by former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
Witnesses say Sauran was helping another injured protester when he was shot twice in the chest and also struck by a pellet. He was rushed to Civil Hospital and later to Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
"He had two bullet wounds in his chest," said his cousin, Shaishab Kishor Shrestha. "His parents were in the United States and only managed to reach Nepal after several days to perform his cremation."
That morning, Sauran had dropped his son off at school before joining the protest. Rojita had pleaded with him not to go.
"I told him no one knows what can happen during protests," she said, fighting tears. "But he went with excitement, saying, 'Change needs courage.'"
He carried a small backpack with water, juice, and snacks, planning to return home for dinner. Around 12:07 p.m., he video-called Rojita, showing her the crowd and saying, "We've reached Parliament."
Minutes later, live ammunition was fired.
Her calls went unanswered.
An unknown number later informed her that her husband had been shot.
"He was helping another protester when he was hit," a witness told her.
Before losing consciousness, Sauran reportedly gave medical staff his wife's phone number.
"When I reached the hospital, I searched every ward until I found him," Rojita said quietly. "He was lying lifeless. I fell apart when I saw my husband, and I wished I could see him one last time."
Sauran's parents, Basanta Kishor and Niru Shrestha, were in the United States when the tragedy occurred. They arrived in Nepal on September 11 after delays caused by flight disruptions.
"I refused to accept my son's body until he was declared a martyr," his father said after meeting interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki and other ministers, demanding justice.
"If the former Prime Minister and others involved in the killings go unpunished, I will go to the streets myself. Only then will my son get justice."
Basanta also expressed disappointment toward Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah.
"He is active only on social media," he said. "He neither came to the hospital nor met the families of the martyrs. We had voted for him, and we are heartbroken."
At home, six-year-old Shreyan still chants slogans against the former Prime Minister and those he holds responsible for his father's death.
"He doesn't fully understand it," Rojita says softly, "but he knows his father died fighting for change."
That morning, before heading to the protest, Sauran had dropped his son off at school and told his wife he would be home for dinner. He had even packed a small bag with juice and snacks, a symbol of how ordinary the day began and how brutally it ended.
Now, their house stands as a quiet memorial to a father, a husband, a son, and a dreamer lost to the struggle for a better Nepal.
With Sauran's death, the toll from the Gen Z protest has risen to 75, each one a story of hope cut short and a wound in the nation's conscience.
October 8 will mark one month since the protest began, a movement that has already claimed dozens of lives, leaving behind shattered families and unanswered cries for justice.
Photo story by senior staff photojournalist Skanda Gautam as The Himalayan Times continues it coverage of the aftermath of the Gen Z movement in Nepal.
