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Was wedding dispute the only reason behind Nepal palace massacre?
It’s been exactly nine years since the royal palace massacre in Nepal. But questions on the incident still linger. The recent is revelations made by former king Birendra Shah’s press secretary Chiran Shumsher Rana in a report published by Nepal, a weekly magazine.
It’s been exactly nine years since the royal palace massacre in Nepal. But questions on the incident still linger.
The recent is revelations made by former king Birendra Shah’s press secretary Chiran Shumsher Rana in a report published by Nepal, a weekly magazine.
Rana, who served the royal family for several decades, states in the report that opposition to his wedding was not the only reason why prince Dipendra orchestrated the massacre.
On June 1, 2001, thirteen members of the royal family including king Birendra and his wife Aishwarya were killed by Dipendra in a shooting spree. He later shot himself and succumbed to death.
His parents’ opposition to his plans to marry the girl of his choice—Devyani Rana—was stated to be the reason for his act.
In the report Rana states that while the queen was opposed to this wedding, the king had remained silent. Birendra was unhappy with his father’s silence, it mentions.
“There’s no doubt that Birendra was responsible for the incident. But there can be other reasons for what triggered it,” he said.
Rana further adds that Birendra had no doubts regarding his son and there was no inkling that Dipendra would commit such an act.
He states that Birendra’s permission to let Dipendra use arms and trust on his son in military matters was his (Birendra’s) biggest mistake.
Ruling out role of any foreign power in the massacre, Rana, however, states that they could have provoked differences within the royal family.
The report mentions that there were differences in the family for some time and Birendra was not having the best of relations with his brothers, Gyanendra and Dhirendra.
