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The
Late Royal Family: The Former Royal Family - Royal tragedy July 2001 |
| Nepal: The Royal Tragedy 2001 |
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Dipendra
killed King Birendra
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| Kathmandu,
June 07, 2001 |
Heady
after a few drinks, an Israeli-made assault rifle in his hand, Crown
Prince Diprendra shot bullets into his father King Birendra three
times and killed him and other members of The Former Royal Family, including Queen
Aishwarya in a shoot-out at the Royal Narayanhit Palace. Crown
Prince Dipendra walked down the staircase to kill his father, King
Birendra of Nepal. The king was shot in the neck and in the stomach. Queen
Aishwarya and Prince Nirajan were shot dead at a garden between the reception
room and Dipendra's living quarters. Prince Nirajan tried to save her
and was shot in the back.
Royal
cousins and other upper-class friends - about two dozen guests who
formed the core of Nepal's monarchy - flitted around the "Billiard
Room" and adjacent chambers in Narayanhiti Palace. The crown prince
had been drinking, and had "misbehaved" with one of the guests, when
King Birendra insisted he leave the room. Prince Dipendra and his
parents had had years of sharp differences over the woman the Dipendra
wanted to marry. The crown prince and his mother had sharp
words that night over the young woman, Devyani Rana, the daughter
of a prominent Nepali businessman and the granddaughter of an Indian
maharaja. The crown prince was taken up to his room in a drunken
state. Meanwhile, the king was furious at the crown prince's behavior
before the guests, and left the large room with Queen Aishwarya.
The
king's aides had retired to their rooms or to the royal cars in the
opulent campus of the palace. In the Billiard Room the rich and
influential guests chatted away before dinner. A half hour
later Dipendra appeared at the top of the stairs in fatigues of the
Royal Nepalese Army. There were no security personnel at the reception
room when the shoot-out began. The prince Dipendra fired a
single shot into the ceiling, before letting loose a burst of automatic
fire that hit King Birendra - others were also hit a few seconds
later.
Several
guests hid behind a sofa. Others tried to run. The crown prince came out
and started firing again. Five other royals went down. Others lay
wounded and screaming in pain. The crown prince walked to the garden
outside the Billiards Room. Prince Nirajan and the queen followed him.
The Queen confronted Dipendra at the garden. The queen tried to hold him
back, so she was the next to go down. Prince Nirajan tried to save her
and was shot in the back. The bodies of the mother and son lay in
the garden. Dipendra shot himself at a bridge linking his living
quarters with the garden.
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