Dipendra of Nepal

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Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev of Nepal (June 27, 1971 – June 4, 2001) was the King of Nepal from June 1 to June 4 2001. Educated at England's exclusive Eton College, the intelligent and well-liked crown prince was thought to have a good future ahead of him, until he slaughtered his family at a royal dinner on June 1 2001. Crown Prince 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.

1 Motive for Murder
2 The victims of the massacre
3 See also
4 External links

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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 marriage 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 [1].

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 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 turned the gun on himself. But rather, Gyanendra had ordered the massacre of King Birendra and his family so that Gyanendra and his own family can succeed to the throne. It cannot be purely coincidental, goes the theory, that Gyanendra's son and wife conveniently escaped the mass killing.

In fact, although she lived, Gyanendra's wife (the current queen) was shot. 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.

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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

Wounded

HRH Princess Shova, King Birendra's sister
Kumar Gorakh, Princess Sruti's husband
HRH Princess Komal, Prince (now King) Gyanendra's wife
Ketaki Singh, King Birendra's cousin

Note: Dipendra himself died three days later. Kumar Khadga's mother Bodh Kumari Shah was an indirect casualty. She died of shock on hearing the news of her son's death.

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