M A I N   N E W S

Birendra tried to shoot Dipendra

Kathmandu, June 16
Nepal’s late King Birendra had made an abortive last-minute attempt to shoot at his son, then Crown Prince Dipendra, as the latter fired indiscriminately on the royals at Narayan Hity Palace on the night of June 1, according to the details of the official probe report released here.

Excerpts of the report released today in the state-owned Nepalese daily “Gorkhapatra” also quoted Prince Paras, son of the new King Gyanendra, as having said the main motive behind the massacre was the marriage (between Dipendra and his girlfriend Devyani, which was opposed by the royals).

After getting injured in the first round of attack by Dipendra, the late King Birendra picked up the 9mm caliber MP-5K automatic sub-machine gun, which the former had thrown before entering the billiards room in the palace for the second time and firing at the monarch and others, the late King’s sister Princess Shova Shahi is quoted as having told the high-level probe panel, whose report was made public on Thursday.

However, in a miscalculated move, Princess Shova Shahi snatched the weapon from her brother and pulled out the magazine thinking that it was the only weapon Dipendra had.

The two-member committee, headed by Chief Justice Keshab Prasad Upadhyaya, had blamed Dipendra for the palace massacre, which had sparked off widespread protests in the Himalayan kingdom.

Corroborating Shova Shahi’s version, Prince Paras is quoted as having said, “She (Shova) must have thought that it was the only weapon Dai (Dipendra) had but I saw that he had much more weapons.”

According to the Nepali version of the full report, Dipendra had differences with his parents over his plan to marry Devyani Rana, his girlfriend for the past seven to eight years.

“The main motive (behind the killing) was the marriage. The issue was raised during Dipendra’s last birthday party,” Prince Paras told the probe panel.

“Bhai and I were always with Dai (Dipendra). We always did what he told us to do. Shruti (Dipendra’s Sister), Gorakh (her husband) and the other sisters were against the marriage,” Shah says.

He claims that Prince Dipendra told him he took up the matter with his mother and the queen mother hours before the fateful incident.

“I had talked about the marriage with Muma (Queen Aishwarya) and Afumuma (Queen Mother Ratna) but both said no. They promised to talk to Buba (King Birendra) on Sunday,” Dipendra told Paras, while the two were chatting between 7.40 pm and 8 pm on that fateful night.

Pointing out to the “close relationship” between Dipendra and Devyani, the report quotes Raju Kumar Karki, aide de camp to the late Crown Prince, as saying, “Devyani is Sarkar’s (Dipendra’s) girlfriend. The relationship has been continuing since the past seven to nine years.” PTI

Maoists reject probe report
Tripti Nath
Tribune News Service

Kathmandu, June 16
The much dreaded Friday may have passed off peacefully but the ever growing number of Maoists in and outside Kathmandu valley are in no mood to take things lying down. Dissatisfied with what they call a “readymade report scripted by the palace”, the Maoists have set up a committee to probe the June 1 palace tragedy in which Nepal lost its King, Queen and other members of the royal family. The CPN (Maoist) party is scrutinising the report and is expected to give a formal reaction soon. Other parties which have also put the report under a microscope are the ruling Nepali Congress and the Nepal Sadbhavna Party.

Although the threat of attacks by Maoist rebels is looming large, the Prime Minister Mr Girija Prasad Koirala, has ruled out tension and public unrest. In a brief telephonic conversation with this correspondent here on Saturday morning, Mr Koirala said, “Situation will be normal now.”

Asked whether he was anticipating any trouble or civil unrest, the Prime Minister said, “I do not think so.”

Meanwhile, a Maoist leader told TNS here that “tension is not over yet. The report is being analysed by different committees of the CPN (Maoists). They feel Dipendra is innocent and therefore trying to identify the killer.” The leader, however, clarified the Maoists were not extremists. “We only want to distribute pamphlets on the Narayan Hity Palace tragedy in different parts of Nepal people are not convinced by the report,” he added.

The Maoists have already made it clear they will not accept the report. The student wing of the underground Maoist party, the All Nepal National Federation of Student Unions (Revolutionary), took out protest rallies in Biratnagar and Pokhara. According to newsreports, some students even burnt effigies of King Gyanendra and his son Paras outside the main gate of the Engineering Institute in Pokhara.

Since the 200-page report was made public, most political parties have been examining it. While the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party has expressed satisfaction with the report, four minor Leftist parties have termed the report “incomplete”. The United People’s Front said the report was “pre-meditated and meaningless and failed to present the true picture of the massacre.”

The Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre) said to be close to the CPN (Maoist) has said the report was the second part of the drama to declare the then Prince Dipendra as killer in a pre-meditated manner. Dismissing the report as a “betrayal,” the party challenged the government to form another committee.

Nepali Congress MP and former Mayor of Kathmandu P.L. Singh said the “crisis is not over but almost over.” He said the Nepali Congress was studying the report.”

Mr Arun Nepal, a member of the National Council of CPN (UML), said the situation was normal.

Ms Shahana Pradhan, founder president of the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist,) said the commission report had “raised more questions than before.” While drawing attention to the possible threat by Maoists, she said, “People are not satisfied with the findings of the commission. What they will do, only time will tell.”

Mr Suman Pradhan, News Editor, The Kathmandu Post, said people were still asking questions about the report. “We were expecting some trouble on Friday. It was a crucial day and passed peacefully with reports of Maoist demonstrations in Pokhara and Biratnagar. I don’t think political parties will spearhead any agitation because the public is in no mood to protest. But, there are lots of questions below the surface.”

Mrs Mehta who has been living in Nepal for the past 34 years, said that “things have almost settled down.” Referring to a news report in The Kathmandu Post about King Birendra making an attempt to shoot Crown Prince Dipendra to prevent him from firing indiscriminately,” she said, “The situation will now depend on how the media handles information.”