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Sheela Bhatt in New Delhi
There is scepticism in Kathmandu about the official version that Nepal Crown Prince Dipendra killed his father, mother, brother, sister and aunts in a rage after Queen Aiswarya rejected his choice of bride.
Anil Ojha, editor, Radio Nepal, told rediff.com, "We don't know who killed the king. The story that has come out is speculative. Who opened fire at King Birendra is not known at all."
Sources in Kathmandu claimed the prince wanted to marry Devyani Rana, daughter of former minister Pashupati Sumsher J B Rana. Harvard-educated Rana is a relative of the Scindias of Gwalior and was general secretary of the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party. However, his mother wanted the prince to marry a girl from the imperial Shah clan. Devyani Rana is Congress general secretary Madhavrao Scindia's niece.
Dipendra, who is in a critical condition after shooting himself on Friday night, has been anointed king by the Raj Parishad.
According to a senior journalist in Kathmandu, the prince had changed his lifestyle in recent years, positively. Negative reports about his youth had created problems for him. He has since taken keen interest in improving Nepal's performance in sport and other fields.
Government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told rediff.com: "It was known that heated arguments were going on for the last few months over the selection of a suitable bride for the prince. But nobody in their wildest imagination thought of such an end to a domestic dispute."
Sanjay Bajaj, a resident of Kathmandu, told rediff.com in a telephone conversation: "I have been staying here for the last 22 years. King Birendra was loved by Nepalis. He was God. Till late afternoon, people thought it was not true. They believed the news only when Nepal television announced it."
Bajaj, who owns a shop near the palace where the king lived, said, "People feel a family member has died. They were genuinely attached to Raja Birendra."
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EXTERNAL LINKS The Constitution of Nepal All about Nepal Laws of Nepal The Cabinet Information on Nepal The World Factbook: Nepal Nepal News The Nepal Media Nepal Home Page Government and Politics Directory Political History Embassy of India Embassy World New York Times: Royal Family of Nepal Are Killed in Palace Shooting
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