This a well known and unsolved murder mystery of Nepal. The murder took place in Narayanhiti palace, Kathmandu on the day 1 June, 2001. Nine members of the Royal family, including King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya, were killed in mass shooting during a gathering of royal family at the palace.
The members killed were :
•King Birendra
•Queen Aishwarya
•Crown Prince (later king) Dipendra, King •Birendra's elder son (perpetrator)
•Prince Nirajan, King Birendra's younger son
•Princess Shruti, King Birendra's daughter
•Prince Dhirendra, King Birendra's younger brother, who had renounced his title
•Princess Shanti, King Birendra's eldest sister, also Rani of Bajhang
•Princess Sharada, King Birendra's middle sister
•Kumar Khadga, Princess Sharada's husband
•Princess Jayanti, King Birendra's first cousin,
and sister of Mrs. Ketaki Chester
The members wounded were:
•Princess Shova, King Birendra's youngest sister
•Kumar Gorakh, Princess Shruti's husband
•Princess Komal, Prince Gyanendra's wife and last Queen of Nepal
•Ketaki Chester, King Birendra's first cousin, who had renounced her title (and middle sister of Princess Jayanti)
The government even appointed inquiry team called Crown Prince Dipendra as the main prepatrator of the massacre. Dipendra slipped into a coma after shooting himself in the head. Dipendra was declared King of Nepal while comatose after the death of King Birendra. He died in hospital three days after the massacre without regaining consciousness. Birendra's brother Gyanendra then became king.
According to eyewitness accounts and an official inquiry by a two-man committee comprising Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya and Taranath Ranabhat, the Speaker concluded:
On June 1, 2001, Crown Prince Dipendra opened fire on a house located on the grounds of Narayanhity Palace, the residence of the Nepalese monarchy, where a party was being held. He shot dead his father, King Birendra, his mother, Queen Aishwarya, and seven other members of the royal family, including his younger brother and sister, before shooting himself in the head. Having largely eliminated the line of succession, Dipendra became king in a coma due to a head injury.
The motive for Dipendra's murder is still unknown, there are many different theories. Dipendra wants to marry Devyani Rana, whom he met in the UK. Some believe that due to his mother's family belonging to the lower class of the Indian royal family and his father's political alliances, the royal family objected. In fact, Devyani's Gwalior family was one of the wealthiest ancient royal families of India and was said to be much richer than the Nepalese kings. The bride-to-be's mother has warned her daughter that marrying the crown prince of Nepal could cause her standard of living to decline. Dipendra's future wife, chosen by the royal family, belonged to the main branch of the Rana dynasty in Nepal, the Chandra Shumsher line.
Another theory is that the potential for Indian influence would have been greater if Dipendra had married Devyani, which the palace opposed. Other theories suggest that Dipendra was unhappy with the country's transition from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy and that too much power was ceded after the 1990 People's Movement.
Much controversy surrounds the circumstances of the massacre, and even today, with the abolition of the monarchy after the 2006 revolution, many questions remain unanswered. Questions that remain unanswered include:
the apparent lack of security at the event; the absence of Prince Gyanendra, Dipendra's uncle, who succeeded him; Dipendra's self-inflicted head wound was located on the left temple, despite being right-handed; and the length of the subsequent investigation, which lasted just two weeks and did not require major forensic analysis, despite Scotland Yard's offer to carry out an investigation.
The government tried to bury the case by shutting down the state media. Later that week King Birendra's brother Prince Gyanendra was crowned King of Nepal. Do you ever wonder all the Royal family members were killed but during this exact incident King Gyanendra was nowhere to be seen. His family who were present there survived but the other royal family members died. What led to the massacre of the Royal family? Who were the real preparator? Till this day it is still unknown. It remained as an unsolved mystery
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The bizarre cases of India and Nepal | Book 1
Mystery / ThrillerIn this we tell you the most bizarre cases of both countries: Nepal and India. Most of them remain unsolved. Many are buried. All of the stories we share are real and based on our research. This series is co written by @No_Fancywords and @SairoGurun...