MISSING in Nepal Massacre

[Guest guest]

MISSING MASSACRE LINKS

 

FROM ASHIS CHAKRABARTI

 

Kathmandu, June 7:

Was there an African diplomat present at the dinner, who apparently

gave an eyewitness account to an American paper? No, said Captain

Rajiv Shahi, it was a private family dinner and there were no

outsiders.

Next moment, one of the Shahi's aides, later identified as a former

journalist and now a businessman friend of his, confronted me: please

identify yourself.EWhen I did, he didn't seem too pleased that a

foreign journalist had stayed on at the press conference meant for

local scribes. He immediately nudged Shahi to end the session and

took him away to the hospital ward meant for trauma casesE

 

At the session meant for local scribes, he gave a clear answer to

just one question. Did Prince Dipendra discuss his marriage proposal

with the late King Birendra or the Queen before he shot them?

 

No, Shahi said.

 

That was all. Shahi didnt take any questions at all.

 

So, here are the questions Shahi did not allow foreign journalists to

raise or, if these were indirectly raised by local scribes, did not

answer:

 

What were the ADCs and the palace guards doing when the shooting was

taking place?

 

He said Dipendra walked in and out of the hall of murders three or

four timesE How long did Dipendra take to kill all those he

allegedly killed? Shahi gave different durations of the shooting.

maximum a few minutesE E5 minutesEand "I'm not too sure. I was too

shakenE Why didnt those present try to run away while they had all

these chances to save themselves? Were they locked in? How could

Shahi then jump out of a back windowE

 

If Dipendra could not talk properlyEbecause he was very intoxicatedE

and had to be escorted by me, Paras and NirajanE how could he come

back all by himself, carrying two assault riflesE45 minutes later?

 

Assuming Dipendra did manage to come down on his own and begin the

shooting, why did he shoot King Birendra only, sparing Queen

Aishwarya for the time, although he was said to have been angry with

his mother for opposing his marriage proposal?

 

Even though he could barely stand erect, how come he killed his

immediate family and spared some others? Shahi said Dipendra stopped

when Paras prayed for his life with folded handsE Which suggests

Dipendra could still listen to the voice of reason and prayer. But

what about the others who were completely unscathed? Its not that

they were saved because they ran away. Nobody did, Shahi confirmed,

raising the question why they didnt.

 

According to Shahi, next to fall to Dipendra's bullets after King

Birendra was his uncle and the late king's brother Dhirendra who was

shot in the chest from point-blank rangeE From this account, one

would assume Dhirendra, too, was dead immediately. But why was he

declared dead three days later?

 

Above all, why did Shahi decide to tell his story a day after the

probe committee officially began its work?