M A I N   N E W S

Dipendra got drugs via kin: ADC
No alcohol in Prince’s blood sample, says doctor

Kathmandu, June 17
Nepal’s late Crown Prince and later King Dipendra, accused of committing the June 1 palace massacre, had over the years become addicted to drugs, which were provided to him by someone within the family circle itself, according to the submissions made by his close aide to the high-level official panel which inquired into the incident.

In a startling revelation, a senior military doctor has claimed that no trace of alcohol was found in the blood samples of late Crown Prince. Brig (Dr) Khagendra Bahadur Shreshtha, who carried out the brain operation of the late Dipendra at Birendra Military Hospital soon after the shooting, had told the high-level official panel probing the incident that no trace of alcohol was found in his blood during the surgery, leading Nepalese weekly.

“His late Majesty’s habit of smoking a special kind of cigarette, prepared with “ganja” and another black substance had worsened since the past one-and-a-half years. He had become so addicted to it that he used to smoke it in front of everyone, including social gatherings,” Dipendra’s ADC Raju Kumar Karki is quoted as saying in the excerpts of the probe report published in the state-owned Nepalese daily Gorkhapatra here today.

Recalling an incident at the Army Club, Mr Karki claims that he requested Dipendra not to use the cigarette and the latter got angry and asked him, “What do you think (you are)?”

Asked by the two-member inquiry committee about the source of his supply, Mr Karki said, “I do not want to blame anyone for it, but I believe that he used to get it from within the family circle.”

The two-member panel, headed by Chief Justice Keshab Prasad Upadhyaya, whose report was made public on Thursday, had alleged that Dipendra shot and killed his father King Birendra, mother Queen Aishwarya and seven other royals with automatic weapons at the Narayan Hity palace, after a heavy intake of liquor and drugs. Dipendra’s other ADC Gajendra Bohara, in his statement before the panel, had claimed that on the fateful night, the Crown Prince ordered him by mobile phone to fetch the special cigarette.

Questioned whether Dipendra’s girlfriend Devyani was aware of his addiction, Mr Karki said, “She may have been aware because he used to smoke before her also.”

In his submission before the committee, Ramakrishna K.C., the late Crown Prince’s orderly, claimed that after being taken to his bedroom in a drunken state, prior to the shooting, Dipendra vomited in the bathroom and thereafter put on his battle fatigue and proceeded to the billiards room, where the royals were seated.

“I asked him whether he needed the emergency bag and his Majesty said it is not required now,” the orderly is quoted as saying.

The orderly also claimed that the Prince also fired at him as he went on a shooting spree.

Meanwhile, a pro-Left weekly says immediately after the June 1 massacre, Nepalese Premier Girija Prasad Koirala had called his Indian counterpart Atal Behari Vajpayee, apprehending that it was a military coup and the latter offered him military assistance, if necessary. However, the report has said which has been dismissed as “baseless” by both the Nepalese Government and the Indian Embassy here. Quoting sources close to the country’s Home Minister Ramchandra Poudel, the report in the weekly Samadrishti alleged that as soon as Mr Koirala was informed about the shooting by the palace secretary on the fateful Friday night, he called Mr Poudel instead of rushing to the palace. Thereafter, he telephoned Vajpayee and briefed him about his apprehension that it could be a coup carried out by the army.

“Mr Vajpayee assured him (Mr Koirala) that if needed, India would send its Army and Air Force,” the report said, adding that Mr Vajpayee called a meeting of top Defence officials to discuss the situation in the Himalayan kingdom.

When contacted, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola said “such newspapers always carry wild allegations and I do not want to talk about it.”

Terming the report as “baseless”, a senior Indian Embassy official said “these ultra-Left papers are always on the lookout for India bashing. They do not have any credibility.” PTI

Maoists to probe massacre
Tribune News Service

Kathmandu, June 17
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 expected to give a formal reaction soon. Other parties putting the report under a microscope are the ruling Nepali Congress and the Nepal Sadbhavna Party.

Although threat of attacks by Maoist rebels is looming large, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has ruled out tension and public unrest. In a brief telephonic talk with this correspondent here on Saturday morning, Mr Koirala said “the 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 said here that “tension is not over yet. The report is being analysed by different committees of the CPN ( Maoists). They feel that Prince Dipendra is innocent and therefore trying to identify the killer.” Maoists clarified “we only want to distribute pamphlets on the Naryan Hity palace tragedy in different parts of Nepal. People are not convinced by the report.”

The student wing of the underground Maoist party, the All-Nepal National Federation of Student Unions (Revolutionary) held out protest rallies in Biratnagar and Pokhara. 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 that 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 that 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.

Ms Shahana Pradhan, founder-President of the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) said “people are not satisfied with the findings of the Commission. What they will do only time will tell.”

Mr Suman Pradhan, News Editor, Kathmandu Post said there were lots of questions below the surface.