Factcheck: Viral Claim That Protesters Nearly Killed Finance Minister Poudel Is False, Victim Identified as Police Constable

Kathmandu: On the second day of the Gen-Z movement, 9 September 2025, incidents of arson, vandalism, looting, beatings, and killings were reported across the country. During that time, a video clip of a person being dragged into the Bagmati River and pelted with stones went viral on social media.

Along with social media users, national and international media presented the person as ‘Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel.’ Even though he was brutally attacked and nearly killed, many took it as a joke, believing the victim was the Finance Minister.

The next day, 10 September 2025, the Finance Minister’s Secretariat clarified that Poudel had not been attacked and the videos were misleading. Despite the clarification, the identity of the man who was viciously assaulted while being dragged into the river remained unknown. Who was that person? What is his condition now? Why was he attacked?

Claim

A video of a man being beaten in a river was widely shared by media outlets and social media users, claiming that he was then Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel. Outlets and platforms such as ABP Live, India.Now, Republic World, Prayas Media, Himali Patrika, Money Control, Nepali Hip Hop Art, Howler.com, and info24hrs7 spread this information.

A video titled “Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel #GenZPower” was uploaded by Nepali Hip Hop Art on Facebook at 4:00 PM on September 9. As of writing, it had over 649,000 views. (See video link, archive link, and screenshot.)

On September 9 at 4:08 PM, the Facebook page Falano Le Ke Bhanla posted the same video with the caption “Part-2 Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel.” It had more than 63,000 views at the time of writing. (Video link, archive link, and screenshot.)

Another user, Uttam Kumar NPL, posted a video of himself assaulting the person in the river at 4:12 PM on September 9, captioned “Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel #Nepal #KPOli #kathmandu #jng.” It had around 200,000 views by the time of this fact check. (Video link, archive link, and screenshot.)

On September 11 at 10:32 AM, Facebook user Sanjay Kumar Mishra posted the video with the caption “Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel’s condition.” The text above the video read, “Leaders are sitting holding their ears” By the time of this fact check, the video had over 2.7 million views. (Video link, archive link, and screenshot.)

Similarly, on September 9 at 3:53 PM, Yaman Paudyal posted the video on Facebook with the caption “The state of a leader.” At 5:17 PM the same day, Govinda Kunwar posted it as “Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel.” A Facebook page named Nepal Khabar shared the video at 5:30 PM with the caption “Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel bowing his legs.” Other accounts, such as Bhupen Limbu (Facebook), Austin Update (X), and War and Gore (X), also spread the claim. Even Wikipedia was updated to state that Bishnu Poudel was drenched and stripped by protesters. (See link, archive link, and screenshot.)

Research

After the Finance Minister’s Secretariat clarified that Poudel had not been attacked, TechPana’s Fact Check Desk began investigating who the helmeted man was, chased into the river and beaten with stones and sticks. In the first phase, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) methods were used. We searched Google and social media using various keywords such as “Bishnu Poudel,” “Finance Minister,” “Gen Z Movement,” and “Bishnu Poudel’s situation” to collect related videos.

In these clips, police personnel from the New Baneshwor Police Circle were seen in different locations, on the road, under the bridge, and in the river. Our focus was the helmeted man misidentified as the Finance Minister. We collected every available video of him and built a timeline.

Some protesters entered the river, kicking and beating him with sticks. Finally, he removed his helmet. Even after that, the assault continued.

As he tried to escape toward the riverbank, protesters chased him and continued throwing stones.

In sequential videos, other people were also seen floating in the river.

Tracing the footage further, the investigation reached under a bridge over the Bagmati River in Tinkune. It became clear that the man in the blue helmet was a policeman, as he and others were seen earlier in uniform.

In a video from the Bagmati bridge northward, all policemen were in uniform. Another clip showed policemen walking in a line with their hands raised along the riverbank. A signboard reading “Madan Bhandari Memorial Park” confirmed the location as outside Tinkune Police Office on the Bagmati banks.

The helmeted policeman was among the crowd. Reviewing the videos in order, it was seen that he first removed the top part of his uniform and tied it around his waist, still wearing his trousers. When chased under the bridge, he was forced to remove his pants as well. Finally, only a blue helmet, a pale gray jacket, and gray underwear remained.

Who was the person called Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel?

Based on the videos, we suspected the helmeted man beaten in the river was a police officer from Tinkune. But his identity was still unknown.

As his face was unclear, OSINT could not confirm it. TechPana’s fact-check team then visited Tinkune Police Office, where police were trying to regain control after it was set on fire.

DSP Hari Khatiwada, with a broken arm, was among them. He and other officers recounted the events. On the second day of the Gen-Z protest, 9 September, around 2 PM, protesters stormed the police office.

As stone-pelting, vandalism, and arson intensified, officers retreated to the roof of Vishwaniketan College nearby. But protesters pursued them, dragged them down, and beat them. The policemen were forced to walk with their hands raised to the northern bridge. Before reaching it, protesters threw stones, scattering the line. Eight to ten policemen fell into the Bagmati River. DSP Khatiwada confirmed the helmeted man was Police Constable Chakra Bahadur Katuwal.

We learned that Katuwal was seriously injured and being treated at Maharajgunj Police Hospital. Attempts to contact him by phone failed, his mobile had been lost in the river. Visiting the hospital, we found him on the second floor.

When asked about the viral videos, Katuwal confirmed:

“I wore my motorcycle helmet when the protesters began attacking the post,” he said. “I couldn’t take it off. No matter how badly I was beaten, it feels terrible seeing those videos go viral. I wish they hadn’t filmed and spread them on social media.”

He was near death when locals rescued him, hid him in a nearby house, and later helped him reach Bhimsengola camp by evening. Only then was he taken to the hospital.

Three policemen were killed and hundreds injured in the protest attacks. The police office was burned, and officers, robbed of weapons, uniforms, and equipment, fled.

The incident has severely demoralized the entire police force. We requested a photo of Katuwal in the hospital, but he declined, saying it could endanger his safety. He asked his superiors for permission. DSP Khatiwada referred the matter to senior authorities. Senior Superintendent of Police Shekhar Khanal, spokesperson of Kathmandu Valley Police Office, said it would be “inappropriate” to expose the victim officer. We left without a photo.

Katuwal suffered broken ribs, head stitches, and wounds on his hands and feet. Doctors warned of possible paralysis if the bones did not heal properly. Our investigation confirmed that the man misidentified as the “beaten Finance Minister” was in fact Police Constable Chakra Bahadur Katuwal.

Claim

It was claimed that the man brutally attacked by protesters in a Kathmandu river was then Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel.

Claimants

These claims were spread by Facebook pages like Nepali Hip Hop Art, Falano Le Ke Bhanla, Uttam Kumar NPL, Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Yaman Paudyal, Govinda Kunwar and others. Media outlets including ABP Live, News X Live, India.Now, Republic World, Prayas Media, Himali Patrika, and even Wikipedia also carried the claim.

Fact

The man in the blue helmet beaten in the Bagmati River was not Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel. The Finance Minister’s Secretariat confirmed no such attack took place. TechPana’s Fact Check Desk, using OSINT and field verification, established that the man was Police Constable Chakra Bahadur Katuwal of the New Baneshwor Police Circle.

At Tinkune Police Office, we confirmed that several policemen jumped into the river while fleeing as protesters torched and vandalized the office. DSP Hari Khatiwada confirmed the victim was Katuwal. Later, TechPana found Katuwal hospitalized in serious condition.

He explained that he wore a helmet to shield himself but forgot to remove it when discarding his uniform to escape. The helmet drew attention, and he was viciously attacked. The viral video misled the public by portraying him as Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel.

Conclusion

The claim that Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel was chased into a river and beaten is false. The person in the viral video is not the Finance Minister but Police Constable Chakra Bahadur Katuwal of Tinkune Police Office.

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