M A I N   N E W S

Eyewitness Shahi vanishes

Kathmandu, June 9
Mystery surrounds the disappearance of army doctor Capt (Dr) Rajiv Shahi, a close relative of the royal family, after he accused late Crown Prince Dipendra of the June 1 palace killings, at a press briefing here on Thursday.

While informed sources said that Captain Shahi, son-in-law of late Dhirendra, youngest brother of the late monarch Birendra, has been taken into custody and was being questioned by the army for unauthorisedly speaking to the Press, there has been no official confirmation or denial of reports which appeared in the local media in this regard.

When contacted at home, a relative of the Captain said he stays at Birendra Military Hospital where he works while the hospital authorities said he was not available there.

“We don’t know anything,” was the stock answer this correspondent received both at Captain Shahi’s home and his hospital when asked about his whereabouts and the reported army inquiry.

At the press briefing in Birendra Military Hospital, Captain Shahi, who claimed to be an eyewitness to the gruesome killings on last Friday night, had accused Dipendra of killing his father King Birendra, mother Queen Aishwarya and seven other royals, and had given a clean chit to Prince Paras, son of new King Gyanendra.

.“It all (reports of Shahi being questioned) seems like a drama. It is indeed surprising that he (Shahi) can hold a press conference at the military hospital without the consent of the authorities,” Jhalnath Khanal, senior leader of the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist), said. PTI

Panel races against time
Tripti Nath
Tribune News Service

Kathmandu, June 9
The commission appointed by King Gyanendra to probe the death of members of the Royal family is working round-the-clock to meet the Monday deadline for submitting its report.

The two-member commission, including the Speaker of the Pratinidhi Sabha (Lower House), Mr Taranath Ranabhat, is said to be working at the Parliamentary Secretariat even on Saturday, though the office otherwise remains closed on this day.

A member of the Speaker’s security staff said Mr Ranabhat left for the Singh Durbar at 8 a.m. yesterday and returned at 9.30 p.m. He was not home on this morning either. 

An Under Secretary in the Parliamentary Secretariat said more than 60 staff members were assisting the commission. Apart from this, a 12-member core group had stayed up all night at the Singh Durbar yesterday. He said the commission hoped to submit the report to the King on Sunday evening.

Although the commission is unfazed by the eye-witness account of the palace tragedy given by an Army Captain, Dr Rajiv Shahi, a son-in-law of late Prince Dhirendra Shah, the government has reportedly expressed concern over the issue.

A Nepalese daily, The Kathmandu Post, has quoted government sources as saying that the Royal Nepal Army would be asked to investigate the matter.

The report further says that a circular was issued to members of the Royal family on last evening to "maintain silence over the incident." The account confirmed the initial reports that Crown Prince Dipendra shot his father, King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah, and other members of the Royal family.

Dismissing theories that the disclosures made by Dr Shahi would affect the commission’s investigation, Mr Ranabhat observed: "We are not concerned about anything anybody says." The commission began its probe yesterday by consulting defence experts, doctors and fingerprint experts.

Mr Narihar Acharya, spokesperson for the Nepali Congress, was of the view that the two-member commission chaired by the Chief Justice, Mr Keshav Prasad Upadhyay, should be given more time for a thorough investigation into the incident leading to the bloodbath.

Mr Acharya said the party hoped that the commission’s findings were satisfactory. “They have little time and if they ask for more time, the deadline may be extended.”
He said the party was likely to hold an emergency meeting tomorrow to take stock of the situation.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a member of the national council of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) said the incident required a thorough investigation, which was not possible in three days. He echoed the public apprehension that the commission would not be able to do justice to the probe in the allotted span of 72 hours.

The two main Opposition parties, the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) and the Nepali Congress, have a difference of opinion over the procedure followed in setting up the commission. The Communist Party of Nepal (UML) member and leader of the Opposition, Mr Madhav Nepal, withdrew from the panel after raising procedural questions. Mr Nepal said the commission had not been set up in accordance with the Constitution. 

The Nepali Congress, on the other hand, is of the view that the Constitution and the Royal Palace Act are separate and the King has the power to appoint the commission on issues concerning the internal affairs of the palace.

A party spokesperson said the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) was not right in its stand of opposing the procedure adopted in constituting the commission.
Citizens are in favour of the extension of the deadline. “They should get at least a fortnight to probe the matter,” said Mr Sumant Kamal Prajuli, a lecturer in the Management Faculty of Tribhuvan University.