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Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah (27 June 1971 – 4 June 2001) was a member of the Nepalese Royal Family, who briefly became King of Nepal from 1 June to 4 June 2001. As the Crown Prince, he allegedly killed his family at a royal dinner, including the previous King, on 1 June 2001. Dipendra was also mortally wounded by an allegedly self-inflicted gunshot to the side of the head. After the murder of his father, he officially became king for three days as he lingered in a coma.

Education

Dipendra received his early education at Budhanilkantha School, Kathmandu.

He was then educated at Eton College, England. The prince had been disciplined while at Eton for selling alcohol.

After Eton, he attended Tribhuvan University in Nepal and later joined the Military Academy, Kharipati. He studied for his master's degree at Tribhuvan University and was a PhD student in the same University. He was known to have been skilled in karate.

Motive for murder

Official reports state that Dipendra assassinated family members because of anger over a marriage dispute.^[1] Dipendra's choice of a bride was Devyani Rana, daughter of Pashupati SJB Rana a member of the Rana clan, against whom the Shah family of kings have a historic animosity. In recent times, though, Shah kings and princes have married almost exclusively members of the Rana family. The Rana clan had served as the hereditary prime ministers of Nepal until 1951, with the title Maharaja, and the two clans have a long history of inter-marriages.

According to official accounts, Dipendra was denied his choice of a wife by his mother Aiswarya, and so he massacred his family in a much-publicised incident after indulging in a drinking binge. Among the dead were his father King Birendra, mother, brother, and sister. Dipendra survived comatose for three days, and was proclaimed King in his hospital bed. He died of his injuries on 4 June and was succeeded by his uncle, Prince Gyanendra. ^[2]

Other theories

Many people in Nepal still believe that Gyanendra was responsible for the massacre, and that he blamed Dipendra so that he could assume the throne himself.^[1] Many suspected this as no one from Gyanendra's family was killed while everyone from Birendra's family was killed. Gyanendra, less popular than his brother Birendra, had been third in line to the throne before the massacre. He was out of town (in Pokhara) during the massacre and was the closest surviving relative of the king. Gyanendra's wife and son were in the room at the royal palace during the massacre. While his son escaped with slight injuries,^[3] his wife was injured during the incident.^[4]

Feeding the rumours is the allegation that Dipendra was mortally wounded by a gunshot to the left side of the head, while Dipendra was right-handed. Some believe that this casts doubt on whether the injury was self-inflicted.^[5][6]

Despite the fact that several survivors have publicly confirmed that Dipendra was doing the shooting, as was documented in a BBC documentary,^[7] many Nepali people still consider it a mystery.

See also

• List of shortest reigning monarchs of all time
• History of Nepal
• regicide, patricide and fratricide

References

External links

• Murder and intrigue in Katmandu (World Tibet News Network)
• Nepal: Murder in Palace, Maoists in Mountains (RWOR)
• Trapped in tradition (Frontline:India's National Magazine)