| Crown Prince Dipendra | ||
November 26, 2001 - King Gyanendra - Nepal's king declared a state of emergency after weekend attacks by rebels killed at least 76 soldiers and police, the palace said. The king's decree suspended civil liberties and allowed soldiers to move against the rebels. Until now, police were used against the Maoist rebels, who are fighting to abolish the monarchy and to establish a socialist state. The Maoists rebels blame Gyanendra for the June 1 massacre at the royal palace that left the previous king and eight other royal family members dead. An official investigation found that Crown Prince Dipendra shot and killed his parents and other relatives. October 26, 2001 - Prince Paras - Nepal's King Gyanendra has declared his son Paras Shah as the next in line for the throne of this Himalayan kingdom. A government investigation and witnesses said Dipendra killed his father, mother, brother, sister, and five other relatives at a palace dinner before fatally shooting himself. Some reports said Dipendra was enraged at their rejection of his choice of bride. Many Nepalese, shocked by the loss of the revered Birendra, refused to believe the investigators' account. Paras, 28, the only son of King Gyanendra and Queen Komal, has remained a source of public embarrassment for the royal family. He was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run auto accident in last year but was never charged in the resulting death of a famous musician. June 5, 2001 - King Gyanendra - Police in Nepal imposed a second curfew to prevent protests against King Gyanendra, as the probe into the royal massacre that put him on the throne failed to start as planned. As the three members of the panel quarreled over how to proceed with the investigation, tension reached new heights on the streets and palaces in Katmandu. "The situation in the country is really bad," said Rabin Nakarmi, a technician who ventured out after a curfew imposed to stop riots was lifted and before police clamped down with a new noon-to-midnight curfew. Police warned people they could be shot if they left their homes. The public anger has been fueled by gossip, overwhelming grief and the lack of an official explanation for the royal massacre and the death of King Birendra, who many viewed as the incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. "Never in my wildest dream did I think this would happen, but the worst part is not knowing who did it," said Amrit Maharjan, a tailor. "There is doubt and it's mentally torturing, not knowing the truth, and that is why people are rioting." The committee investigating the royal deaths, headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhaya, includes opposition leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, a Marxist-Leninist, who stopped the probe saying they needed the consent of the cabinet as is dictated by the constitution. June 4, 2001 - Nepal's Crown Prince Dipendra - Two days after being named king of Nepal, alleged royal rampager King Dipendra died in the hospital were he was in a coma resulting from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Hours after his death, Prince Gyanendra, the late King Biendra's brother and uncle of just-enthroned King Dipendra, was named king. The new king said he would name a commision headed by Nepal's chief justice to investigate the royal massacre. Previously, King Gyanendra declared the royal blood bath was due to, "a sudden burst of an automatic weapon," implying it was an accident. As King Gyanendra was being enthroned, riots swelled through the streets of Katmandu as most Nepalese refuse to believe the rumors about the royal massacre. Since the killings Katmandu has been on a curfew, with protesters, who had shaved their heads in honor of their beloved late King Biendra, clashing with security forces. More than five people have already died in the rioting. Many suspect Prince Paras Shah, King Gyanendra's son, to be behind the killings. Others say Gyanendra himself, who was not in town that night, might have been involved. Paras Shah is the least-liked of the royals in Nepal. A drunken party animal, Prince paras has been involved in at least three hit-and-run cases, and was accused of killing a popular folk singer after a hit and run accident last August. Many speculate that because both the soon-to-be crowned King Gyanendra and his son were not at the dinner, they may have joined forces in a conspiracy to decimate the rest of the Shah clan. However, the senior palace official said Paras Shah was at the dinner, as was his mother, who was injured and remains hospitalized. Others point the finger at Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala as responsible for the slaughter. "They say it was an accident. But our whole royal family has been killed. The young people of this country just want to know the truth," said Priya Bhattarai, a 20-year-old hotel worker. June 2, 2001 - Nepal's Crown Prince Dipendra - According to reports from military and government officials, Nepalese Crown Prince Dipendra gunned down the royal family during a family dinner and then turned the weapon on himself because the queen would not allow him to marry the woman he loved. However, no one in Katmandu believes the story that the prince was responsible for the killings. Instead all types of conspiracies of Shakespearean proportions have taken hold of this mountaneous kingdom. "Because of the lack of credible official information, it is not surprising that people are engaging in all kinds of rumors," said sociologist Krishna Bhattchan. The official report stated that King Birendra, his wife and six royal relatives died from automatic weapons fire during a dinner in the royal palace. Five others were wounded, one being the brother of the late king who died in the hospital. According to a reconstruction by several palace sources, King Biendra and Queen Aishwarya, their family and close friends were seated at the dining table in the "Billiard Room" in the Narayanhiti Palace when Crown Prince Dipendra walked in just before 9 p.m. The prince, who appeared to have been drinking, demanded that his parents declare his engagement to his girlfriend of several years, Devyani Rana. The queen disapproved of Rana because she was not a member of the Shah clan. Some palace officials say they heard shouting from the room, but senior officers of the king's staff deny it. The crown prince then went to the palace armory and took out an Israeli-made Galil assault rifle, returned to the billiard room and mowed down the royal court. Then he changed into his army fatigues and returned with a 9 mm pistol and shot himself in the temple, leaving a large exit wound at the back of his head. Prince Dipendra was left in a coma from the gunshot wound to the head. While in a coma, the prince and alleged family annihilator was declared king. |
