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Kathmandu Friday June 08, 2001 Jestha 26, 2058.
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First eyewitness account of
Palace incident
Post Report
KATHMANDU, June 7 – After days of silence
surrounding the Friday night massacre at the Narayanhity Royal Palace, an eyewitness has
finally publicly come forward to describe in graphic detail how the killings occurred. The
witness also confirmed what has been circulating for some time: that it was Crown Prince
Dipendra who shot his father the late King Birendra and others.
Army Captain Dr. Rajiv Shahi, a medical doctor
who is married to Princess Pooja Shahi (the daughter of former Prince Dhirendra who also
succumbed to bullet wounds), said that the then Crown Prince Dipendra was "very very
intoxicated."
Dr Shahi said that the Prince first shot his
father and then "started to go wild shooting at whoever came in front of him".
Speaking at a hurriedly called press briefing
today at the Birendra Army Hospital, Dr Shahi provided the first eyewitness accounts to
emerge publicly of the horrendous shootings that has engulfed Nepal in grief and shock.
According to Shahi, the then Crown Prince
Dipendra not only fired indiscriminately from automatic rifles, but also dashed repeatedly
inside and outside the large hall where the weekly dinner was taking place, pumping in
bullets on his family members who were injured but not yet dead.
"All this time the then Crown Prince
Dipendra was in a battle fatigue. He was wielding an assault rifle at different times. An
M-16 at times and MP-5, I think, but I am not too sure about what the weapons were…I
did not count how many," he said. "It was too far and too terrifying to see what
was going on…"
Capt. Dr. Shahi, one of the surviving
witnesses to the incident that took place at the Royal Palace on June 1, also spoke about
the positive, even heroic, role of Prince Paras Shah, the son of present King Gyanendra,
saying he had saved many lives that day.
"He (then Crown Prince Dipendra) turned
towards the other group (aiming to shoot at the youngsters). The other group comprised of
Prince Paras, and all the ladies were behind him…Had it not been for Prince Paras,
probably there would have been not so many survivors that day," he said.
According to Capt. Dr. Shahi, he along with
his father-in-law former Prince Dhirendra, his wife Princess Pooja and his sisters-in-law,
Princess Dilasha and Princess Sitashma had reached the Royal Palace at around 7:45 p.m.
for the regular Friday get together.
After paying respects to Her Majesty Queen
Mother and Princess Helen at the former’s residence, the celebrations began in
different groups at the drawing room, he said.
"At that time, the then Crown Prince
Dipendra told me that he was very very intoxicated," he said. "…It’s
an L-shaped room. There is a snooker table, some chairs, speakers, music system and a
small bar…not really a bar but just a stand."
"At about 8:15, His Late Majesty King
Birendra walked in with an ADC (security personnel). He went to meet the Queen Mother and
spent some time with her. At that time, the late Crown Prince started to appear that he
was really intoxicated. He started to fall down anywhere, stammer. And at that time,
because this is a family gathering, we escorted him up to his room," he explained.
"So, his younger brother late Prince
Nirajan, myself and Prince Paras, we escorted him, carried him through the garden gate.
After this, His Majesty came inside the large drawing room. We all came in…and moved
away at different places."
Dr Shahi said that King Birendra was standing
near the snooker table inside the room, whereas the youngsters were at a different area in
the room. "The exact places where the other members of the Royal Family were sitting
or standing at that time, I cannot say for certain…I was not at a very advantageous
position to see where they were [1]."
At around 9 p.m., Shahi said, he heard a burst
of gunfire. "It was an automatic. I thought that somebody was playing a prank. There
was a lot of shouting, chaos…and all of a sudden I heard people saying that His Late
Majesty King Birendra has been shot."
"Being a doctor, I rushed...took off my
coat and pressed it against his (King Birendra’s) neck from where he was bleeding.
His Late Majesty told me that he had been shot in the stomach as well. I told him not to
worry at the moment, as stopping the bleeding was more important at that time."
Shahi continued that after shooting the King,
the then Crown Prince Dipendra dashed out of the hall. "I did not see the initial
shooting…I did not see it all. He (late Majesty King Birendra) was lying down on the
floor [2]. Princess Shova Shahi, his younger sister, was also beside him. All of a sudden,
Dipendra walked into the room. My father-in-law late Prince Dhirendra tried to intervene.
At this point he was shot at point blank range on his chest[3]."
"And at about this time, the Crown Prince
started to go wild and started shooting at whoever came in front of him. I am not too sure
where everybody was because it was such a blur."
He said that Princess Shanti, Princess Sharada
and her husband Kumar Khadga as well as Princess Shruti’s husband Gorakh Shumsher
Rana were also shot at this moment. Gorakh Shumsher was shot in the chest, but he managed
to crawl to Shahi’s side. "He said he had been shot, and I told him to lie
down." After the shootings, Dipendra dashed out again, only to return soon.
"Before he came in, Princess Shruti had
moved by her husband’s side to inquire about his health and may be to help him. When
he (Dipendra) came at this time, he shot at Princess Shova, Princess Shruti, and His
Majesty again. And at about this time, I jumped towards the sofa to save myself."
The then Crown Prince then went out again,
providing Shahi the opportunity to run for cover. But before he could get out of the room,
the Crown Prince returned again.
"He came in again and shot His Majesty,
late Princess Shruti, Kumar Gorakh, Kumar Khadga, Princess Sharada at point blank range,
again. When he went out again this time, I ran out from the window[4]. I called four ADCs
to come, to call for the ambulance, the doctors and I went out."
Shahi said that Dipendra returned again. Upto
this time, Queen Aishwarya and Prince Nirajan had both escaped serious injuries. But
Dipendra shot at them this time in the garden outside the room[5].
"What happened in the garden concerning
Her Late Majesty Queen Aishwarya, late Prince Nirajan and the then Crown Prince Dipendra…I
am not too sure because I didn’t see it. But from what I gather, Prince Nirajan, Her
Late Majesty Queen Aishwarya went to confront him (late Crown Prince Dipendra) about what
he did. And Prince Nirajan knowing the condition his brother was in tried to save her
(late Queen Aishwarya) by intervening between his mother and his brother. He was shot in
the back. He had numerous gunshot wounds."
After that, said Shahi, the then Crown Prince
Dipendra shot himself on the small bridge inside the garden[6]. "By the time I had
gone out, I came here to the Army Hospital to prepare the people. And about the same time
His Late Majesty King Birendra was brought here."
"What motivated him (Dipendra) to do
this, I am not sure. But it was the then Crown Prince Dipendra who committed this murder.
Anybody who touches (harms) the King is no more what he used to be. He is just a
murderer," said Dr Shahi.
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