| lola |
Posted
on 30-Jun-01 12:57 AM
Rabi Sumshere Rana (Married to King Birendra’s aunt): “…His Majesty had taken a Coca-Cola and moved towards the billiard table, I was two or three steps behind and he called me. I moved forward and he asked how I was. I said everything was fine and then Mahesh Kumar entered and said his wife could not come because of arthritis. His Majesty moved forward and said that gout, uric acid, cholesterol were in the family. Before he had finished talking about cholesterol, Mahesh Kumar left and another man came (towards us). Not army uniform, that dress is known as a fatigue, I looked closely and I noticed it was the Crown Prince. I thought he looked at me and I think he smiled. Then there was a burst of three shots. What to do. His Majesty just stood and watched, I just stood there watching. I knew he was a happy-go-lucky person, but this was no way to fool around. Then I saw blood gushing out of king’s side. I yelled: “Doctor!”. ... the King said ‘What have you done?’ He (Dipendra) had bolted out of the room. Then, in utter panic, I screamed for an ambulance...”
Maheswor Kumar Singh (married to King Birendra’s aunt): “…When I arrived the Crown Prince was already there. He was playing billiards on his own. He asked me to take a drink. He was manning the bar himself... I took a drink and parked it on a table. It was about 7:30-7:45, and he (Dipendra) went out. His Majesty the King was not there yet. So we went to greet the Queen Mother, and Her Majesty the Queen was also there. We were chatting when His Majesty arrived at about 8:30, and then I stepped out. After about 10-15 minutes His Majesty...went to the Billiard Room.
He (the king) had a drink in his hand…I went up and told him my wife could not come and were talking about health, ...(at about) 8:50-8:55. I heard a sound from behind and turned back. I saw the Crown Prince in complete battle dress, cap, an automatic weapon could be clearly seen in his hands. About one or two seconds later there were two sounds. I thought it was from the TV. It was very near my ears and thought my eardrums had burst, I blinked. I turned to see what was happening…Rajeev Shahi was already running towards us and stood behind King Birendra trying to support him. …I think I saw the queen rushing out…”
Ketaki Chester (Prince Basundhara’s daughter): “I saw him (Dipendra) coming in from the main door in combat uniform carrying two machine guns…I did not think they were real. My sister (Jayanti) was near me and I said, “Isn’t he too old to come in a uniform in front of other people?” My sister is now dead. She said, I don’t know. Then I thought he was bringing the weapons to show them to His Majesty. He walked straight into the room and stood about 10 feet away from His Majesty then I heard a bang. I did not think it was a gunshot. The gun in his right hand was aimed upwards. Then I smelt something and told my sister this could be ammunition. He turned and headed out, we stepped forward and saw that His Majesty had been hit and he was falling down slowly…later I saw Her Majesty marching out of the door, I called out to her twice. I heard the machine gun fire twice and told Dhirendra whom I was holding: ‘He may have shot Her Majesty’…when Her Majesty ran out, ..., I saw Nirajan running after her…”
Capt Rajeev Shahi (husband of Dhirendra’s daughter, ): ”I heard that His Majesty had been shot. By the time he had already fallen. I opened the coat and pressed the right side of his neck (to stop the bleeding). The king said “Rajeev, I’ve also been hit in my stomach”…I had not seen the Crown Prince until then because he had run out. Then he came back in. Dhirendra Shah had tried to stop him saying ‘Baba what are you doing?’ and he was shot.”
Colonel Sunder Pratap Rana (ADC to His Majesty the King who was 40 or 50 m away from the scene of the crime): “The time was…after nine, after nine. There was a sound of the cupboard moving. I said what was happening and Major Gajendra (Bohra, Dipendra’s ADC) stepped out. As soon as he stepped out, I heard gunshots and Her Majesty’s, a woman’s voice saying ‘call the doctor.’ I tried to call the doctor on my mobile, and could not. Then I ordered for the fighting force and moved forward. There was another round of firing. I kept moving forward. Inside the hall I saw people on the ground, but could not make out where who was. I was running from outside and looking inside… I found the His Majesty in a group and felt if I carried His Majesty and went back the same way the same man who had shot him could attack us, so I ordered that the door be broken. We checked his airways, bleeding and circulation, His Majesty had survive(d) the attack. We then put him in a car and left for the hospital.”
Major Ananta Keshar Shima (ADC to Her Majesty, who was also in the nearby office): “A woman’s voice had ordered us to call a doctor, it could have been Sruti’s or Her Majesty’s voice. Then I tried to call a doctor from the office telephone. After failing to get through to the army hospital and doctor I went towards where the firing had come from. By the time the door had been broken. I helped the colonel carry His Majesty out and after the car left, I went back to call the doctor again and ordered more vehicles…I looked around for Her Majesty and not finding her in the room I came back to the ADC room and called the nanny in her quarters. The nanny told me Her Majesty had not returned so I went out towards the garden, where I met Major Gajendra. As we went forward we saw a body near a bend. It was groaning, coming up close I recognised the Crown Prince and ordered the people with me to take him away. Then while I was turning around, I saw Prince Nirajan flat (sic)… and sent him to hospital.” Because I had not yet found Her Majesty I went in…I saw something red on the side of the door, I ran up the stairs and there was Her Majesty. Because I could not carry her on my own I called the military police, put her in a car and took her to hospital.”
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