By Sakshi Dayal and Sarita Chaganti Singh

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Nepal’s first female chief justice, Sushila Karki, is set to take charge as interim head, stepping in to run the poor Himalayan nation after anti-graft protests plunged it into the worst political crisis in decades.

Karki’s appointment on Friday came days after violence led to the deaths of at least 51 people and forced Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign on Tuesday.

A judge who displayed zero tolerance of corruption, Karki is known for taking on powerful interests, in a stance that may have cost her the top judicial post, as the government moved to impeach her less than a year into her tenure.

The proposal was dropped after public pressure, but a disillusioned Karki quit on her own.

“She faced an impeachment motion…

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