22 Years of Royal Palace Massacre: All About the Horrific Incident
It’s been 22 years today since the Nepali Royal massacre, which had shaken the entire nation, took place and the real motive behind this bloodshed is still unknown.
The Royal family, not even in their wildest dreams, had thought that the greatest threat to the monarchy lived right within the palace.
Entire Nepal’s royal family was wiped out in a single night on Jestha, 2058, when drunk Crown Prince Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah made a surprise attack on the royal family during a family gathering on the grounds of the Narayanhity Palace, as per the official investigation.
He managed to gun down at least nine members of his family, including his father, King Birendra, and his mother, Queen Aishwarya by opening fire in an inebriated state.
Hed later shot himself in the head after taking this extreme step and he was declared the King the moment his father breathed his last. Unfortunately, he plunged into a coma and reigned Nepal for three days before being declared brain dead and his uncle Gyanendra succeeded him as the king.
People in Nepal took to the streets after the massacre and various theories float behind Dipendra’s motive behind this criminal act as the real reason is still unknown.
While many believe that he wanted to tie the knot with Devyani Rana, however, his royal family was against this marriage as they believed her to be a lower-class royal of India. Many say that he was threatened to be disinherited if he continued with the match.
Another theory states that if Dipendra would have married Devyanai, there would be a higher chance of Indian influence. Also, Rana was not at all happy with the country’s shift from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy and believed too much power was also given away following the 1990 People’s Movement.
After Gyanendra ascended the throne himself, he said that the main reason behind the death at the royal palace was due to “accidental discharge of an automatic weapon”.
However, later he said that he made this claim owing to ‘legal, constitutional hurdles.’ Later, the King and Queen’s eldest son Dipendra was held responsible for the massacre.
The massacre led to series of events in Nepal and hundreds of people and eye-witnesses were questioned and week-long investigations were carried out and Dipendra was declared as the perpetrator.
The massacare has been a huge turning point in the history of Nepal. It is one of the unsolve mystery, which may never be known.
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