Shock and disbelief

KATHMANDU, JUNE 2. Nepalis were in shock on Saturday after the King and Queen were shot dead and their family massacred, but few could believe official reports that they were killed by Crown Prince Dipendra.

Hundreds of anxious Nepalis gathered near the royal palace demanding to be told the truth and booing armed police who kept them from the palace. ``Our king, our land is dearer to us than our lives,'' the crowd shouted. ``Tell us the real truth.''

Some in the crowd called for the Prime Minister, Mr. G. P. Koirala, to be hanged for keeping the ``truth under wraps''. At one point, police charged with batons, causing a minor stampede. The crowd gathered again minutes later as police nervously clutched their guns.

``How could it happen in the high-security palace? It is baffling,'' said Mr. Rajendra Dahal, editor of a fortnightly magazine. ``There are a lot of questions still unanswered.''

The city was calm but tense as it prepared for the state funeral. Thousands of mourners poured on to the streets. Some waved the national flag, many watched from windows overlooking the route to the palace. Police diverted traffic away from the palace whose gates remained closed.

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