On September 8, 2025, during widespread Gen Z-led anti-corruption protests in Nepal, the home of Dr. Dambar Khadka, a veteran physician with over 40 years of service in Karnali Province and the director of Karnali Provincial Hospital, was completely razed by arsonists in Surkhet.
The attack also targeted the residence of his brother, Nepali Congress Vice President Purna Bahadur Khadka, amid allegations of political graft. Dr. Khadka, who pioneered the region’s first kidney transplant program earlier this year, has condemned the violence as a tragic conflation of personal politics with his apolitical medical contributions. The videos of Dr. Khadka looking at his burnt car and house are surfacing online.
As of September 26, 2025, investigations continue with heightened security in place, but no arrests have been reported specifically tied to this incident. The unrest has claimed at least 22 lives nationwide, prompting an interim government probe into corruption claims, including cash recoveries from vandalized properties.
The Emotional Toll on a Lifelong Healer
Standing amid the charred remnants of his Surkhet home, Dr. Khadka, a soft-spoken figure known for his quiet dedication to Karnali’s underserved communities, shared his heartbreak in a September 24 social media post amplified by local journalists. “For 40 years, I’ve poured my life into healing the people of Karnali—building this home brick by brick through honest service, not politics,” he wrote, echoing sentiments from a viral Nepali-language post calling for immediate justice.
His voice, often steady in hospital corridors, cracked with the weight of seeing decades of memories reduced to ash. As director of the 300-bed Karnali Provincial Hospital, Dr. Khadka has overseen critical expansions, including the January 2025 launch of kidney transplant services in coordination with Kathmandu’s Shahid Dharmabhakta National Transplant Centre, marking Karnali’s first such success and serving patients from remote districts like Jumla and Humla.
He recently introduced an online OPD booking system to ease patient queues, a move hailed as transformative for the province’s 1.5 million residents.
Dr. Khadka urged in follow-up statements to local media, pleading for communities to separate individual accountability from collective harm. His plea has sparked solidarity from health workers across Nepal, with Karnali’s medical fraternity vowing continued service despite ongoing shortages of specialists, a chronic issue Dr. Khadka has long advocated against. No personal enemies have been named, but the incident underscores how protests can ensnare innocents.
Background of Political Unrest and Rising Tensions
The September 8 arson was one of 19 structures fully destroyed in Karnali during the Gen Z protests, a youth-driven wave of fury against entrenched corruption that engulfed all seven provinces.
Nationwide, the unrest, sparked by demands for transparency after years of graft scandals, led to the resignation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on September 9, with at least 22 deaths reported, including civilians and security forces.
Purna Bahadur Khadka, a senior Nepali Congress leader, faces scrutiny over alleged embezzlement, with viral videos from the protests showing scattered cash and foreign currency at similar sites, including former Energy Minister Deepak Khadka’s home.
Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki announced on September 25 that probes into these recoveries are underway, alongside a social media ban to curb misinformation. In Karnali, police have bolstered patrols and engaged community elders, but tensions simmer:
Media outlets like Annapurna Post were also torched, injuring four journalists. Deputy Inspector General Madhav Prasad Shrestha confirmed the Khadka homes’ total loss, vowing forensic analysis to identify perpetrators amid calls for de-escalation.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective: Justice Without the Ashes
Dr. Khadka’s misfortune, his home, a monument to selfless service, collateral in a firestorm of righteous anger—exposes the peril of unchecked vigilantism.
As Nepal grapples with a leadership vacuum and graft inquiries, The Logical Indian reaffirms that true accountability thrives in courtrooms, not flames. Corruption erodes trust, but so does harming healers like Dr. Khadka, whose innovations have saved countless lives in one of Asia’s most remote regions.
By prioritizing empathy, protecting non-combatants while pursuing the guilty, societies like Karnali’s can forge resilience. Dr. Khadka’s resilience shines through: Even now, he’s coordinating hospital aid for protest-injured patients. Let this be a pivot toward dialogue, where justice rebuilds rather than razes.
