| bk |
Posted
on 02-Jun-01 09:12 PM
Latest Update:
When all is said and done.....
Dead:
King Birendra
Queen Aishwarya
Prince Nirajan (king's younger son)
Princess Shruti (king's daughter)
Princess Shanti (king's sister)
Princess Sharada (king's sister)
Princess Jayanti (king's cousin)
Kumar Khadga (Princess Sarada's husband)
Injured:
Crown Prince Deependra
Princess Komal (king's middle brother Gyanendra's wife)
Princess Shova (king's sister)
Kumar Gorakh (Shruti's husband)
Prince Dhirendra (king's youngest brother)
Ketaki Singh (king's cousin)
The Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala read these names out in a short speech to the nation broadcast by the state owned Nepal Television and Radio Nepal on Saturday at midnight local time. In addition to these royals, there are reportedly other commoners --bodyguards and servants-- who may have fallen victim in the shooting rampage. But no news on this is forthcoming.
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News Update
The New York Times, in an article reports:
By most accounts, the royal family had sat down for its traditional Friday dinner in a banquet hall in the palace. A few dozen people were at the table, including the king and queen and their three adult children.
Crown Prince Dipendra, 29, had been upset by his parents' — and particularly his mother's — disapproval of his choice for a bride, though the young woman came from one of the nation's leading families.
That evening, Dipendra had been drinking, according to several accounts, and he left the table in a fit of anger only to return with at least one — perhaps two — semiautomatic weapons.
"Dipendra sprayed the room with bullets, and then he went out and got dressed in military fatigues before coming back to finish up," said Mr. Dixit. "He was a gun lover, a hunter and a shooter. He was someone who even tested weapons for the Royal Nepali Army."
According to other accounts, the prince had changed into the military clothing before he fired any shots.
Either way, he had locked the doors to the dining hall, the accounts say. No guards or aides were inside at the time.
In one account, the prince, upon returning to the hall, carried a handgun. He then moved among the wounded, firing single shots into their heads.
Finally, guards entered the hall. In one version, Dipendra attempted suicide, firing a single shot through his temple. In a second version, he briefly escaped to another room before attempting to take his own life.
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