मैले मारेको हु राजालाई
मैले मारेको हु राजालाई
Crown Prince Dipendra, the host for the evening, was also rushed to the-emergency ward, seemingly lifeless' courtesy self-inflicted wounds from a Heckler & Koch MP5 gun loaded with high velocity bullets. For two days, he lay comatose.
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In killing his father King Birendra and other family members before shooting himself, a love-crazed prince exposes Nepal to emotions it never knew and uncertainy it never wanted. The story of heavenly love turned to hellish fury.
On Friday, June 1, when King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev of Nepal - by local legend, the living incarnation of Vishnu - chose Tribhuvan Sadan within Kathmandu's Narayanhity Palace complex for the regular Friday family dinner, little did he suspect that a convivial evening would have a grisly conclusion.
Nobody, not even the most prescient of court astrologers, had ever imagined the two-storied, Benjamin Polk-designed bungalow would witness the bloodiest royal massacre in recent history. A massacre that decimated an entire line of the Shah family which has ruled for 233 years. A massacre of the royals by a royal.
After the stillness of a lazy Kathmandu evening was broken by a minute-long volley of fire from a heavy-duty assault rifle, palace ambulances followed by a flurry of cars sped down Durbar Marg towards Birendra Army-Hospital, 5 km away.
They carried the blood-stained corpses of King Birendra, his wife, Queen Aishwarya Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah, daughter Princess Shruti, younger son Prince Nirajan, royal sisters Sharda and Shanti and Sharda's; husband Khadga Bahadur Shamsher. To die later was Dhirendra, the king's youngest brother who gave up his title-in 1990 in order to divorce his wife and-marry a European.
Crown Prince Dipendra, the host for the evening, was also rushed to the-emergency ward, seemingly lifeless' courtesy self-inflicted wounds from a Heckler & Koch MP5 gun loaded with high velocity bullets. For two days, he lay comatose.
The 125-member Raj-Parishad or Royal Council, which determines succession, declared him the 12th Shah monarch on June 2 - much to the bewilderment of the world. Dipendra, 29, died at 3.45 a.m. on June 4. For 54 hours since his father's death, Nepal was nominally ruled by a man who was not only clinically dead but guilty of regicide. Dippy, as he was known at Eton, had-always been a "damned good shot", recalled a schoolmate.
The custom of a Friday dinner for the Shah family was begun by King-Birendra soon after his 1972 coronation. There was no permanent venue and the hosts were selected by turn. The previous Friday the family had met at Mahendra Manzil, the residence of Queen Mother Ratna Devi - Birendra's stepmother and the second wife of his father, King Mahendra.
The custom of a Friday dinner for the Shah family was begun by King-Birendra soon after his 1972 coronation. There was no permanent venue and the hosts were selected by turn. The previous Friday the family had met at Mahendra Manzil, the residence of Queen Mother Ratna Devi - Birendra's stepmother and the second wife of his father, King Mahendra.
On occasions the king hosted the dinner in his own palace residence, Sri Sadan. At times the royals gathered outside the palace complex - at the house of Shruti and her husband Gorakh Shamsher Rana in touristy Thamel; or Prince Gyanendra's residence in Maharajgunj. For the fateful June 1 dinner, it was Dipendra's turn to play host.
The crown prince, however, was not at his hospitable best. He was not even present in Tribhuvan Sadan to receive the king, who, earlier that evening had met the editor of a local weekly, spent a considerable time with the family priest and visited the Queen Mother before walking to his son's official residence at 7 p.m. Dipendra's absence was noticed. To not receive the king was a violation of protocol. By 8 p.m., when Dipendra finally showed up, his parents, sister, brother and aunts had made themselves comfortable in his sitting room. The lesser royals were gathered in an adjacent room as etiquette demanded that they not smoke or drink in the king's presence.
The crown prince, however, was not at his hospitable best. He was not even present in Tribhuvan Sadan to receive the king, who, earlier that evening had met the editor of a local weekly, spent a considerable time with the family priest and visited the Queen Mother before walking to his son's official residence at 7 p.m. Dipendra's absence was noticed. To not receive the king was a violation of protocol. By 8 p.m., when Dipendra finally showed up, his parents, sister, brother and aunts had made themselves comfortable in his sitting room. The lesser royals were gathered in an adjacent room as etiquette demanded that they not smoke or drink in the king's presence.
As Captain Rajiv Shahi, husband of Dhirendra's daughter Puja and the first royal to break the family's silence on the Friday night massacre, recalled, "The crown prince was intoxicated. He was falling down and was slurring. Nirajan, Paras (Gyanendra's son) and I escorted him to his private room."
Queen Aishwarya, a formidable person in her own right, wasn't amused. According to an eyewitness, she upbraided her son and blamed the "evil influence" of "that woman". The disparaging reference was to 32-year-old Devyani Rana, the woman Dipendra wanted to marry but whom his parents didn't approve of.
The queen's forthright displeasure prompted an intemperate response from Dipendra. Despite being economical with details of a family shame, palace circles insist the crown prince slurred and swore at his mother. A hushed silence followed, broken by the king asking in an uncharacteristically raised voice for the two ADCs of the crown prince, Major Gajendra Bohra and Major Raju Karki. Going by Shahi's version, family members escorted Dipendra to his room. On entering his bedroom, Dipendra bolted it from inside. Later investigations revealed he downed half-a-bottle of Scotch and smoked a couple of marijuana joints. The whisky bottle was found open on a table and the ashtray was heaped with reefer butts. The crown prince was in a serious state of agitation. He proceeded to smash a framed photograph of Devyani and pieces of valuable crystal and china. There are reports that his cell phone showed Devyani's mobile number on the list of outgoing calls during the period. Anger, love, alcohol and marijuana made a devastating cocktail.
Queen Aishwarya, a formidable person in her own right, wasn't amused. According to an eyewitness, she upbraided her son and blamed the "evil influence" of "that woman". The disparaging reference was to 32-year-old Devyani Rana, the woman Dipendra wanted to marry but whom his parents didn't approve of.
The queen's forthright displeasure prompted an intemperate response from Dipendra. Despite being economical with details of a family shame, palace circles insist the crown prince slurred and swore at his mother. A hushed silence followed, broken by the king asking in an uncharacteristically raised voice for the two ADCs of the crown prince, Major Gajendra Bohra and Major Raju Karki. Going by Shahi's version, family members escorted Dipendra to his room. On entering his bedroom, Dipendra bolted it from inside. Later investigations revealed he downed half-a-bottle of Scotch and smoked a couple of marijuana joints. The whisky bottle was found open on a table and the ashtray was heaped with reefer butts. The crown prince was in a serious state of agitation. He proceeded to smash a framed photograph of Devyani and pieces of valuable crystal and china. There are reports that his cell phone showed Devyani's mobile number on the list of outgoing calls during the period. Anger, love, alcohol and marijuana made a devastating cocktail.
At 9 p.m. Dipendra walked down the staircase. He was in his normal Nepali dress - though street-corner gossip later insisted he had changed into battle fatigues - with a pointed "dhaka" cap. As he entered the anteroom, the group assembled there was aghast to find him holding a loaded assault rifle.
Those who saw him enter included Prince Paras, Princess Puja, Shahi, General (retd) Ravi Shamsher Rana (senior most member of the royal family and son of King Tribhuvan's daughter) and Mahesh Kumar Singh, the Indian-born businessman-husband of Queen Mother Ratna's sister.
In the hierarchical world of the palace, nobody would dare to stop the crown prince even if he seemed completely out of his mind.
In the hierarchical world of the palace, nobody would dare to stop the crown prince even if he seemed completely out of his mind.
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