Accidental shooting: Regent

KATHMANDU, JUNE 3. Who did it? This was the million dollar question uppermost in the minds of people of shell-shocked Nepal as the circumstances behind the assassination of King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and six other royal family members suddenly became a mystery.

The assertion by the acting King, Prince Gyanendra, that the massacre of eight members of the royal family on Friday night was due to an ``accidental shooting'' contradicting earlier reports that the Crown Prince Dipendra, now the King, shot down the relatives, has injected a new element in the palace intrigue. The condition of Prince Dipendra, who was said to have shot himself later, continued to be very critical.

However, some reports today suggested that the Prince was injured in the back. Any decision on whether the life support system would be withdrawn will depend on the acting king or his only other close relation and late King Birendra's step mother, Ratna Rajya Laxmi Devi shah, regarded as the Queen Mother.

The Prime Minister, Mr. G. P. Koirala's dramatic remarks on the same lines as Prince Gyanendra and the retraction of the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Ram Chandra Paudel's widely quoted statement that Crown Prince Dipendra was the gunman has deepened the mystery as a shell-shocked nation was yet to come to grips with one of the worst royal murders in modern history.

Both Prince Gyanendra and Mr. Koirala specifically referred to an ``accidental'' automatic weapon fire being responsible for the massacre during a family dinner at the Narayanhiti palace.

Their statements had no references to Prince Dipendra being the gunman.

Mr. Paudel reportedly went back on his statement that had pinpointed Dipendra as the gunman yesterday. ``I never said the Crown Prince did it,'' he was quoted as having said.

PM promises probe

In a bid to assuage the feelings of the grief-stricken people in the Himalayan kingdom, Mr. Koirala, who faced angry protests during the royal funeral yesterday, said the Government would make the facts of the incident public after investigating the killings even as many questions remained unanswered. ``I want to assure the people that the truth and facts of this incident will be made public,'' he said.

Elaborating, Prince Gyanendra in his message broadcast to the people over state-run media said the injured royal family members were taken to the Army Hospital following the ``accident''. The eight royal members died in hospital despite the best efforts of the doctors, he said.

The media has also been highlighting the lack of official and authentic information on what actually happened at the royal dinner being responsible for all kinds of rumours. ``People still have not got answers to the mysterious, abnormal and terrible haphazard shootings which killed Nepal's monarch and his family members,'' said the Nepal Samacharpatra.

Earlier reports said Crown Prince Dipendra was keen on marrying Ms. Devyani, daughter of late Usharaje Scindia of the Gwalior royal family, who was married to a former Minister and member of the Rana family in Nepal.

Queen Aishwarya, who belonged to a rival Rana family, was strongly against the Prince marrying Ms. Devyani and wanted him to accept a bride from another family suggested by her.

The reports said the Prince had been dating Ms. Devyani for quite some time and she left Kathmandu last afternoon hours after the tragedy struck. Ms. Devyani, believed to be in New Delhi, is incommunicado.

Meanwhile, as the people sought to come to terms with the tragedy, the air was thick with talks about conspiracy. A royalist group ``Rashtriya Milan Kendra'' accused the Government of being involved in the massacre.

Political analysts said the Regent was not so committed to parliamentary democracy and might favour a return to the pre-1990 absolute monarchy. For the past decade, the monarchy has played a constitutional role although it wielded influence in a volatile political atmosphere.

The analysts also warned the Maoists might try to take advantage of the situation and undermine the system of constitutional monarchy altogether.

After yesterday's sporadic violence, the Himalayan Kingdom, including the capital, remained by and large peaceful today. Shops began reopening after a day's voluntary closure and more vehicles were back on the streets today.

- PTI

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