6-1-01 Nepali Royals massacre, Kathmandu, Nepal Crown Prince Dipendra, 29 10 dead
Every Friday the Nepali Royal family would gather for a private gathering/dinner at the royal palace in Kathmandu. This week's event was hosted by the eldest son of the reigning monarch and thus heir to the throne, Crown Prince(CP) Dipendra. Gathered in the billiard room for pre-dinner drinks, the evening started normally, but then the CP began to act drunk--bumping into tables and becoming argumentative, eventually falling to the floor. Later, witnesses would say this was only an act designed to give the perp an excuse to exit from the scene, as the CP was known to be able to consume an enormous amount of liquor and not display any symptoms. A handful of his relatives picked him up and escorted him back to his private quarters. An hour later he reemerged, dressed in camoflage and holding several weapons that he was known to keep in his apartment. He opened fire, killing first his father the king, and then gunning down in quick succession virtually the entire royal family. Killed were:
King Birendra, 55
Queen Aiswarya, 51(mother)
Prince Nirajan, 22(brother)
Princess Shruti, 24(sister)
Princess Shanti Singh(aunt)
Princess Sharada Shah(aunt)
Prince Dhirendra(uncle)
Kumar Khadga Bikram Shah(in-law)
Princess Jayanti Shah(in-law)
...plus at least three wounded.
The shooting lasted a couple of minutes. 79 rounds total from three weapons(an M-16, a 9mm submachine gun, and a pistol(though other accounts also mention a shotgun)) were fired. Dipendra's final act was to put a bullet into his own head just outside the building where the murders happened. He lived for a couple of days before succumbing.
The nation was shocked:
http://rwor.org/a/v23/1100-99/1107/nepal_royals.htm
Within hours the shocking story hit headlines like a wild tale of regicide out of Hamlet or King Lear--with a Columbine, automatic-weapons twist.
The motive for the act eventually became the CP's rage over not being allowed by his meddling parents to marry the woman he loved. As one author put it, it would be like Britain's Prince Charles whacking all his immediate royal relations merely because they didn't approve of Camilla Parker Bowles. Or like John-John whacking JFK, Jackie, Bobby, Teddy, and his sister merely because they didn't approve of Carolyn Bessette. Technically, you could call this guy a 'family annihilator' -type random-rager, though he didn't exactly fit the profile--that of an authoritarian head of the family who feels his control slipping away. And almost no family-annihilator has ever come from the elite ranks of society, so this guy is definitely a first.
The 'final report' of the authorities consisted of six typed single-spaced pages. They apparently weren't bothered by seriously collecting any toxicology, ballistics, autopsy, gunshot residue, or fingerprint evidence, etc., relying only on a few eyewitness reports. The victims' bodies were quickly cremated according to Hindu tradition.
Unlike in the western world, where most aren't even aware there IS a conspiracy theory behind the mass-shooting phenomenon, in Nepal apparently nobody believes the official theory. Chief among the suspects is the successor to the crown, the murdered king's brother Gyanendra, who was one of the few royals not at the dinner that night. The Indians, the Chinese, and the CIA were also blamed. Things were not helped when Gyanendra the next day told the media than an 'accidental explosion' of an automatic weapon caused the deaths.
http://www.nytimes.com/20...eories.html?ref=dipendra
''If the prime minister says he's not exactly sure what happened, and the chief of the army staff says the same, how can any ordinary man know?'' Mr. Gajurel asked, brushing his hand through his salt-and-pepper crew cut. ''First, we were told that the killer was Dipendra; after that, we had Gyanendra saying it was only 'an accident.' Then they went back to the first story again.''
http://www.nepalitimes.co.../2011/05/27/Nation/18244
At 1:30 AM(about 5 hours later) we put up the first item of news up on our website relating what we knew till then: that at least six members of the royal family were dead, there were rumors the crown prince had shot everyone and then shot himself.
Because the first reports from eyewitnesses and from the media pointed at the CP, I conclude he was most probably the sole shooter. But when murders and suicides occur among those holding political power, you have to look once-twice-three times for evidence of skullduggery.
http://hamropalo.com/nepa...olitical-conspiracy.html
Was the Royal Massacre instigated by political agenda? Former Army Secretary and Lieutenant General at the palace Bibek Kumar Shah points out the possibility. ”During that time Prince Dipendra was very frustrated by the dispute over marriage. It seems like someone who was closely watching his situation provoked him to assassinate his family,” Shah says, “There is a cornerstone for political conspiracy being behind this all. But, which national and foreign powers were involved in the conspiracy? It is still a mystery.”
The question is, could Dipendra have been the proverbial 'Manchurian Candidate?' Some hints:
http://www.pri.org/storie...fallen-monarchy4204.html
--Eyewitness Ketaki Chester: "The look on his face was very scary," she said. "He looked exactly like the Terminator 2 -- absolutely expressionless, but very concentrated."
http://www.nytimes.com/20...prince.html?ref=dipendra
--Crown Prince Dipendra was not only tipsy from whiskey but also high on ''a special kind of cigarette prepared with a mixture of hashish and another unnamed black substance. (Later identified by one source as opium.)
http://ssristories.com/show.php?item=1372
--Crown Prince Dipendra was taking anti-depressants and began threatening to kill his family a year before the slaughter June 1, according to a story in this week's Talk magazine. ...
--Why did the CP feel the need to put on military fatigues to commit the slaughter? Did he feel he was on a 'mission?' Was he in 'game' mode? (Though there is no evidence he was a gamer.)
The Mask Theory
http://www.hindustantimes...rsy/Article1-325944.aspx
The hatchers of the plot are believed to have hired a mercenary, who impersonated the crown prince by wearing similar army fatigues and a look-alike mask.
--The Naya Patrika daily on Wednesday carried an "eyewitness" account by LalBahadur Lamteri Magar, deployed as an army aide at the palace on the day the tragedy occurred. Magar reportedly told the daily that the first shootings were heard in the crown prince's quarters, where Dipendra had gone to rest after being overcome by the drugs and drinks he had consumed. According to his inference, Dipendra, the alleged perpetrator, was killed first, after which the assassin(s) went to the hall where the rest of the royal family had met for a usual Friday night get-together and let fly with guns.
http://www.mijrai.com/201...palese-royal-family.html
In a book named Raktakunda, based on the interviews with another survivor, Queen Mother Ratna’s personal maid, the author says that two men masked as Dipendra fired the guns.
This is an interesting theory. It attempts to reconcile the majority of eyewitness reports with a belief in the innocence of the CP. Though my gut feeling is most of its holders can't even conceive of mind-control and thus substitute the much more low-tech 'mask' hypothesis.
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
http://www.salon.com/2001/06/12/nepal/
Why were the bodies so quickly cremated, destroying all forensic evidence? Why was Gyanendra the only member of the royal family not present at the family’s dinner? Why was his son Paras left unharmed? Why was the 29-year-old prince, the wealthy and popular heir to the throne, so bent out of shape by a family squabble? Why did Gyanendra insult the nation with an outlandish alibi that a machine gun had “accidentally exploded”? Why did the left-handed prince shoot himself in the right temple?(Other reports say the fatal wound was in the back of his head.)
http://celtickane.com/pro...cre-of-2001-years-later/
According to several accounts, Dipendra was seen wobbling and stumbling before and during the massacre because he was drunk. How could Dipendra have been able to shoot so many people so effectively while intoxicated? Why was there no struggle between Dipendra and anyone else in the billiard room? Where were the palace guards? ... In Dipendra’s Glock pistol, there were two bullets fired from that night. Generally, when someone shoots himself in the temple they only really have the ability to shoot the gun once. ...why did he discharge two bullets from his pistol? There are too many unanswered questions to accept any of the current theories of the events on June 1st.
SUSPICIOUS DEATHS?
http://articles.sfgate.co...-crown-prince-dipendra/2
Since then, suspicions have deepened as one of the few eyewitnesses to the rampage met an untimely death. On Nov. 12, Princess Prekshya, the estranged wife of Gyanendra's younger brother, Direndra (who was killed in the palace massacre), died in a helicopter crash.
SYNCHRONICTY?
That morning's edition of the Nepali Times, the big newspaper in town, had an editorial entitled 'God Save the King' about the nation's national anthem, and on on p 15 of the same issue was an article titled 'A Suitable Prince,' about the Crown Prince, hinting at disagreement within the royal family about Dipendra's choice of bride, which, lo and behold, became the official theory of the CP's motivation for the murders.
/
Every Friday the Nepali Royal family would gather for a private gathering/dinner at the royal palace in Kathmandu. This week's event was hosted by the eldest son of the reigning monarch and thus heir to the throne, Crown Prince(CP) Dipendra. Gathered in the billiard room for pre-dinner drinks, the evening started normally, but then the CP began to act drunk--bumping into tables and becoming argumentative, eventually falling to the floor. Later, witnesses would say this was only an act designed to give the perp an excuse to exit from the scene, as the CP was known to be able to consume an enormous amount of liquor and not display any symptoms. A handful of his relatives picked him up and escorted him back to his private quarters. An hour later he reemerged, dressed in camoflage and holding several weapons that he was known to keep in his apartment. He opened fire, killing first his father the king, and then gunning down in quick succession virtually the entire royal family. Killed were:
King Birendra, 55
Queen Aiswarya, 51(mother)
Prince Nirajan, 22(brother)
Princess Shruti, 24(sister)
Princess Shanti Singh(aunt)
Princess Sharada Shah(aunt)
Prince Dhirendra(uncle)
Kumar Khadga Bikram Shah(in-law)
Princess Jayanti Shah(in-law)
...plus at least three wounded.
The shooting lasted a couple of minutes. 79 rounds total from three weapons(an M-16, a 9mm submachine gun, and a pistol(though other accounts also mention a shotgun)) were fired. Dipendra's final act was to put a bullet into his own head just outside the building where the murders happened. He lived for a couple of days before succumbing.
The nation was shocked:
http://rwor.org/a/v23/1100-99/1107/nepal_royals.htm
Within hours the shocking story hit headlines like a wild tale of regicide out of Hamlet or King Lear--with a Columbine, automatic-weapons twist.
The motive for the act eventually became the CP's rage over not being allowed by his meddling parents to marry the woman he loved. As one author put it, it would be like Britain's Prince Charles whacking all his immediate royal relations merely because they didn't approve of Camilla Parker Bowles. Or like John-John whacking JFK, Jackie, Bobby, Teddy, and his sister merely because they didn't approve of Carolyn Bessette. Technically, you could call this guy a 'family annihilator' -type random-rager, though he didn't exactly fit the profile--that of an authoritarian head of the family who feels his control slipping away. And almost no family-annihilator has ever come from the elite ranks of society, so this guy is definitely a first.
The 'final report' of the authorities consisted of six typed single-spaced pages. They apparently weren't bothered by seriously collecting any toxicology, ballistics, autopsy, gunshot residue, or fingerprint evidence, etc., relying only on a few eyewitness reports. The victims' bodies were quickly cremated according to Hindu tradition.
Unlike in the western world, where most aren't even aware there IS a conspiracy theory behind the mass-shooting phenomenon, in Nepal apparently nobody believes the official theory. Chief among the suspects is the successor to the crown, the murdered king's brother Gyanendra, who was one of the few royals not at the dinner that night. The Indians, the Chinese, and the CIA were also blamed. Things were not helped when Gyanendra the next day told the media than an 'accidental explosion' of an automatic weapon caused the deaths.
http://www.nytimes.com/20...eories.html?ref=dipendra
''If the prime minister says he's not exactly sure what happened, and the chief of the army staff says the same, how can any ordinary man know?'' Mr. Gajurel asked, brushing his hand through his salt-and-pepper crew cut. ''First, we were told that the killer was Dipendra; after that, we had Gyanendra saying it was only 'an accident.' Then they went back to the first story again.''
http://www.nepalitimes.co.../2011/05/27/Nation/18244
At 1:30 AM(about 5 hours later) we put up the first item of news up on our website relating what we knew till then: that at least six members of the royal family were dead, there were rumors the crown prince had shot everyone and then shot himself.
Because the first reports from eyewitnesses and from the media pointed at the CP, I conclude he was most probably the sole shooter. But when murders and suicides occur among those holding political power, you have to look once-twice-three times for evidence of skullduggery.
http://hamropalo.com/nepa...olitical-conspiracy.html
Was the Royal Massacre instigated by political agenda? Former Army Secretary and Lieutenant General at the palace Bibek Kumar Shah points out the possibility. ”During that time Prince Dipendra was very frustrated by the dispute over marriage. It seems like someone who was closely watching his situation provoked him to assassinate his family,” Shah says, “There is a cornerstone for political conspiracy being behind this all. But, which national and foreign powers were involved in the conspiracy? It is still a mystery.”
The question is, could Dipendra have been the proverbial 'Manchurian Candidate?' Some hints:
http://www.pri.org/storie...fallen-monarchy4204.html
--Eyewitness Ketaki Chester: "The look on his face was very scary," she said. "He looked exactly like the Terminator 2 -- absolutely expressionless, but very concentrated."
http://www.nytimes.com/20...prince.html?ref=dipendra
--Crown Prince Dipendra was not only tipsy from whiskey but also high on ''a special kind of cigarette prepared with a mixture of hashish and another unnamed black substance. (Later identified by one source as opium.)
http://ssristories.com/show.php?item=1372
--Crown Prince Dipendra was taking anti-depressants and began threatening to kill his family a year before the slaughter June 1, according to a story in this week's Talk magazine. ...
--Why did the CP feel the need to put on military fatigues to commit the slaughter? Did he feel he was on a 'mission?' Was he in 'game' mode? (Though there is no evidence he was a gamer.)
The Mask Theory
http://www.hindustantimes...rsy/Article1-325944.aspx
The hatchers of the plot are believed to have hired a mercenary, who impersonated the crown prince by wearing similar army fatigues and a look-alike mask.
--The Naya Patrika daily on Wednesday carried an "eyewitness" account by LalBahadur Lamteri Magar, deployed as an army aide at the palace on the day the tragedy occurred. Magar reportedly told the daily that the first shootings were heard in the crown prince's quarters, where Dipendra had gone to rest after being overcome by the drugs and drinks he had consumed. According to his inference, Dipendra, the alleged perpetrator, was killed first, after which the assassin(s) went to the hall where the rest of the royal family had met for a usual Friday night get-together and let fly with guns.
http://www.mijrai.com/201...palese-royal-family.html
In a book named Raktakunda, based on the interviews with another survivor, Queen Mother Ratna’s personal maid, the author says that two men masked as Dipendra fired the guns.
This is an interesting theory. It attempts to reconcile the majority of eyewitness reports with a belief in the innocence of the CP. Though my gut feeling is most of its holders can't even conceive of mind-control and thus substitute the much more low-tech 'mask' hypothesis.
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
http://www.salon.com/2001/06/12/nepal/
Why were the bodies so quickly cremated, destroying all forensic evidence? Why was Gyanendra the only member of the royal family not present at the family’s dinner? Why was his son Paras left unharmed? Why was the 29-year-old prince, the wealthy and popular heir to the throne, so bent out of shape by a family squabble? Why did Gyanendra insult the nation with an outlandish alibi that a machine gun had “accidentally exploded”? Why did the left-handed prince shoot himself in the right temple?(Other reports say the fatal wound was in the back of his head.)
http://celtickane.com/pro...cre-of-2001-years-later/
According to several accounts, Dipendra was seen wobbling and stumbling before and during the massacre because he was drunk. How could Dipendra have been able to shoot so many people so effectively while intoxicated? Why was there no struggle between Dipendra and anyone else in the billiard room? Where were the palace guards? ... In Dipendra’s Glock pistol, there were two bullets fired from that night. Generally, when someone shoots himself in the temple they only really have the ability to shoot the gun once. ...why did he discharge two bullets from his pistol? There are too many unanswered questions to accept any of the current theories of the events on June 1st.
SUSPICIOUS DEATHS?
http://articles.sfgate.co...-crown-prince-dipendra/2
Since then, suspicions have deepened as one of the few eyewitnesses to the rampage met an untimely death. On Nov. 12, Princess Prekshya, the estranged wife of Gyanendra's younger brother, Direndra (who was killed in the palace massacre), died in a helicopter crash.
SYNCHRONICTY?
That morning's edition of the Nepali Times, the big newspaper in town, had an editorial entitled 'God Save the King' about the nation's national anthem, and on on p 15 of the same issue was an article titled 'A Suitable Prince,' about the Crown Prince, hinting at disagreement within the royal family about Dipendra's choice of bride, which, lo and behold, became the official theory of the CP's motivation for the murders.
/
