Dipendra of Nepal
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Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev of Nepal (June 27, 1971 – June 4, 2001) was King of Nepal from June 1 to June 4 2001. He was accused of slaughtering his family at a royal dinner on June 1 2001. Dipendra was also mortally wounded, either by his own hand or at the hands of the palace guard, and officially became king for the three days he lingered in a coma.
Education
Educated at England's exclusive Eton College, Dipendra, according to an article published on June 4 2001 in the Irish Times, "was reportedly excused from chapel when he turned 18. According to Nepali tradition, the prince effectively became a god on his birthday and he could not be seen worshipping another." The Irish Times article also noted that the prince had been disciplined while at Eton for selling alcohol.
After Eton, he attended Tribhuvan University in Nepal and later joined the Royal Nepal Military Academy. He was known to have been skilled at kung fu.
Motive for murder
Dipendra reportedly assassinated family members because of anger over a marriage dispute. Dipendra's choice for a bride was Devyani Rana, a member of the Rana clan, with whom the Shah family of kings have a historical animosity. The Rana clan had served as the hereditary prime ministers of Nepal until 1951, with the title Maharaja, and the two clans had a long history of inter-marriages.
According to official accounts, Dipendra was denied his choice of a wife by his mother, and so he massacred his family in a much-publicised incident after indulging in a drinking binge. Among the dead were his father King Birendra, mother, brother, and sister. After the event, Dipendra survived comatose for three days, and was proclaimed king in his hospital bed. He died of his injuries on June 4 2001 and was succeeded by his uncle, Prince Gyanendra [link].
Gyanendra, not as beloved in the country as his brother Birendra, had been third in line to the throne before the massacre. He was out of town (in Pokhara) during the massacre and was the closest surviving relative of the king. Gyanendra's son, Crown Prince Paras, was reportedly in the royal palace during the massacre but escaped injury. Paras is extremely unpopular in Nepal because of a prior history of debauchery, including at least one incident of vehicular homicide for which he was never prosecuted.
Conspiracy theories circulate in Nepal that suggest the official account of the massacre may differ from the actual events. According to Nepalese local accounts of the actual events, it has been suggested that Dipendra did not in fact kill his family and then turn the gun on himself. Rather, the theory holds, Gyanendra had ordered the massacre of King Birendra and his family so that Gyanendra and his own family could succeed to the throne. It cannot be purely coincidental, goes the theory, that Gyanendra's son and wife conveniently escaped the mass killing. However Gyanendra's wife was severely injured in the shooting.
Another blow to the conspiracy theories would be the fact that several of the survivors (wounded and otherwise) have publicly confirmed that the shooter was in fact Dipendra, as was documented in interviews on a recent special documentary by the BBC.
The victims of the massacre
Died- HM King Birendra, father
- HM Queen Aishwarya, mother
- HRH Prince Nirajan, brother
- HRH Princess Shruti, sister
- (HRH Prince) Dhirendra, King Birendra's brother who had renounced his title
- HRH Princess Jayanti, King Birendra's cousin
- HRH Princess Shanti, King Birendra's sister
- HRH Princess Sharada, King Birendra's sister
- Kumar Khadga, Princess Sharada's husband
- HRH Princess Shova, King Birendra's sister
- Kumar Gorakh, Princess Sruti's husband
- HRH Princess Komal, Prince (now King) Gyanendra's wife and current Queen
- Ketaki Singh, King Birendra's cousin
See also
External links
- [Murder and intrigue in Katmandu] (World Tibet News Network)
- [Nepal: Murder in Palace, Maoists in Mountains] (RWOR)
- [Trapped in tradition] (Frontline:India's National Magazine)
- [Details and analysis]
Birendra Bir Bikram Shah
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Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah
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