“I was hit. Sruti  cradled me.Then Dipendra came and shot her.”

-    Kumar Gorakh

The details are so horrific and gory that reading it is not for the faint-hearted. The 300+ page report is made up mostly of raw unedited testimonies from eyewitnesses, medical personnel and security staff. Some of the accounts are rambling and confused, others are contradictory. The royal relatives who were in the Tribhuvan Room were interviewed less than a week after the massacre. Many said they could not recall exact details because things happened so fast, and also because of the shock and grief.

There are unconfirmed details: did the fatally wounded King Birendra try to reach for a gun that Dipendra threw? Was the person in the red sari seen by a waiter running into the garden Queen Aishwarya? How many times did Dipendra go out of the room, and why? Where exactly were the ADC’s during the whole episode? How long did the shooting last? Any eyewitnesses to Dipendra’s suicide? Why wasn’t the queen mother interviewed?

There is inconsistency in the exact timing of various events. There are differences in the recollections of eyewitnesses, but none of them have any doubts about who did it.

The Nepali public has an image of Dipendra which is a composite of what the palace wanted us to know. But family members are now coming out with hush-hush stories about Dipendra’s past behaviour: an easy-going and pampered crown prince used to getting what he wanted, his gun fetish, his previous shooting sprees, his violent outbursts in which Princess Sruti and other relatives and friends had been victims, his frequent drink and drug-induced rage. One bout of viciousness was on his birthday almost exactly a year ago. Dipendra carried his MP-5 submachine guns wherever he went. Palace officials were used to him frequently blazing away at crows, cats and bats in the palace grounds. In fact, when the first shots were fired, sources told us the Queen Mother remarked: “There he goes shooting cats again.”

-    The following is an unofficial translation by Nepali Times of excerpts from the commission’s transcripts of eyewitness testimonies:

Queen Komal: “I was present at the family gathering at Tribhuvan Sadan that day. I learnt that the crown prince had gone to rest early. Sometime later there was a burst of gunfire and the bullets hit the ceiling. After that I saw that King Birendra had been hit on the right side of his neck. Kumar Khadga and Kumar Gorakh were also shot. Then I was hit in the back and I fell down… (Princess) Shanti had fallen over me, and I could not see anything after that.”

Princess Helen Shah (King Birendra’s aunt): (She was sitting with the Queen Mother in the anteroom, heard gunshots and some people running in the garden. She thought the youngsters were playing. In the end she heard one or two shots. Then there was silence.) “About 7-8 minutes after that Paras came running (and told us). After hearing that  ‘Amumuma dai-le ta Thulobuba dekhi liyara sabai jana lai goli hanyo’ (Dipendra shot King Birendra and all the others), I opened the door and stepped out. The Queen Mother was behind me…I then entered the Billiard Room…and looked all around. Everyone was on the ground. Dhirendra was crying in pain. I rushed back to the Queen Mother and told her everyone except Dhirendra were dead. She asked where is the king. Paras said I have sent him to hospital already. Then she asked where were the queen and Nirajan. At that time the two stepped out. The Queen was in front and Nirajan was following…I don’t know where. Then we went to hospital.”

Princess Shoba Shahi (King Birendra’s youngest sister, now recuperating in hospital). “It was our normal Third Friday gathering. No argument, no discussion it was just a gathering. He (Dipendra) had served drinks and then gone to fetch Mummy (Queen Mother)…After chatting with our mothers we all drifted towards the Billiard Room. The crown prince was not there. Dhirendra told me that four people had taken him (Dipendra) to his room. Then we entered the Billiard Room. A while later, he (Dipendra) appeared in combat clothes (sobs), he had a big gun. He did not talk, all of us were there, and there was the sound of gunshots…We did not think that he intended to kill, we thought the gun had gone off by mistake. Birendra dai fell. I went and held him. Rajeev also came and helped. I couldn’t tell where he was hit… Birendra dai tried to get up. And he was holding a… I said leave this and snatched it. The magazine came out and I threw it away. Sometime later there was a bang, Sani diju (Princess Shanti) came running in. There was a shot from outside and my maili bhauju (middle sister-in-law, Queen Komal) fell, then I saw that Gorakh had been hit. He (Dipendra) was still coming in and Dhirendra said ‘Babu, that’s enough’. He had just finished saying that when he was shot. Immediately after Dai (King Birendra) fell, Sruti came saying “Bua, Buba”, but seeing her husband she said “Eh ba timilai pani lagyo?” (You have also been hit?”) and rushed towards him….Then she fell. After shooting bhai (Dhirendra) he shot his sister. After that he shot His Majesty again and he fell…actually he killed him that third time.” 

Prince Paras: “We reached there a little after 7:30, about 7:40. Everyone else had come. Mummy, myself, sister and Himani (wife) were a little late. The Crown Prince appeared like he had already had some cocktails. (He asked) what would you like? I decided to have just a Coke. ‘I have been drinking whiskey,’ he said. He was ok until that time, but seemed intoxicated. (When I asked) what happened he said: ‘We’ve been discussing marriage. I spoke with mua (his mother) and with Afumuma (Queen Mother), both have said no.’ This was about eight o’clock. 

At around eight the Queen Mother came, (Dipendra had fetched her)…again he served drinks, then at about 8:30 His Majesty arrived. At that time Dai (Dipendra) was with us inside, in the room where the incident took place. He seemed drunk and fell, as if he had passed out and was down on the floor. Gorkah, Nirajan, Rajeev and myself picked him up and told him we were taking him to his room because Thulobuba had already come. We took him up but did not put him in bed, we put him down on a floor mattress. At around 8:31-32 we turned off the lights and came down. His Majesty spent about half-an-hour with the Queen Mother. Then he came to the room where the incident took place. The king had just taken a drink. We had not even said cheers, we were in a corner and did not see the crown prince coming… that’s the corner where we usually stayed, we youngs (sic) used to stay there so (the elders) didn’t see us smoking. I did not see him coming, I only came to know he had come when the first shot was fired. He fired three rounds as he came in, His Majesty had just asked ‘What are you doing?’ Bang, bang, he was hit here and here (pointing). His Majesty fell. Dr Rajeev and I were together. Both of us rushed to him. Dr Rajeev reached His Majesty, but I was stopped by Princess Shoba. I went back and told the sisters to take cover and lie low. At about this time the Crown Prince came in again. I saw him shoot at His Majesty. I saw him shoot Dhirendra. When he was returning the second time Dhirendra said ‘Baba, you have done enough damage’. No sooner had he said that, than bang-bang one hit him here (pointing). Then he fell, and after that it was one after another, I cannot recall. I had already turned back and was helping the sisters to take cover. I saw His Majesty, Kumar Gorakh and Kumar Khadga fall, more or less at the same time. It was the MP-5 that had hit the three, this was the same MP-5 which His Majesty picked up. Princess Sobha took it away and removed the magazine, and put it down on the floor. Maybe she thought this was the only weapon, but Dai (Dipendra) also had other weapons, I had seen them. One handgun was on his left side the MP-5 was in his right pocket…I did not see what happened outside. He had the shotgun and the M-16 on his shoulders.

He may have gone in and come out within a minute, or perhaps 30 seconds. He came back with the big gun, an M-16, and hit Thulo Buba (King Birendra) in the head, then Kumar Khadga fell. I did not see Sruti come but saw her telling Gorakh, ‘Baba you have been hit.’ Princess Sarada went to where Kumar Khadga had fallen, she lay over his body sobbing “What has happened to you, what has happened to you?” The crown prince came back and shot her at point blank range…when he came for the third time he shot at Jayanti diju, Ketaki…and Sruti. Then he came towards the tall chair, we were directly in front of him. I said ‘What are you doing…what are you doing…please go.’ If he had shot: I was there, Mahesh was there, Rabi was there. I had hidden them there. My sister was behind Mahesh. My wife was there. I had hidden three of the (cousin) sisters there and another one behind what looks like a sofa. To Dai (Dipendra) I said: “Please, what are you doing, we are the only ones here”. One-by-one he looked at us and left. I got up and went to Kanchho Buba (Dhirendra). He told me: “Paras I can’t move my legs, please try to move them.” Then he told me to protect the children, I did not even seen my mother (Queen Komal) fall. She was trying to get up from under Princess Shanti. I went and helped muma get up…then I went to the Queen Mother’s room. I had heard firing outside and thought it came from there, but it was quiet in the room. I told them what had happened. By then the firing had stopped.

Dai’s ADC came saying ‘He shot himself, he shot himself’. I asked him where was Bhai (Nirajan), he said he had been shot. I asked where was Thulo Muma (the Queen) he told me Thulo Muma was down, everyone was down and Thulo Muma had no chance. I did not see what happened…outside Bhai (Dipendra) was lying down groaning in pain.

(Reasons for shooting) I think it was the marriage issue. This disucssion had begun on his last birthday. We discussed who were “against” and who were “with”. Bhai (Nirajan) and I were “with”. We did whatever he said. Rajeev was “with”, Sruti, Gorakh and other sisters were “against”. I think that was the main reason.”

Princess Prerana (Paras’ sister): “…After sometime Dipendra (came) in army dress…first he fired up on the ceiling, then he shot Thulo Buba (King Birendra)…I don’t know who else he shot, I saw all of them on the ground…Daju (Paras) hid us all behind the sofa, we were behind him. I saw Thulo Buba and my uncle (Dhirendra) being hit. I saw the others only after they had fallen.

Princess Sitashma (Dhirendra’s daughter): “We were near the bar. I came in about an hour later Thul Dai (Dipendra) came in an army dress, we stood by just watching, then there was the sound of firing. Paras-da said get down get down and we hid. Then I saw my father going down slowly. Hearing the machine gun we stayed hidden. He (Dipendra) came, looked at us and left. Then I heard what happened outside, we did not see it.”

Princess Dilasha (Dhirendra’s daughter): “We hadn’t even said cheers. We were just talking…then there was automatic gunfire. We were shocked. His Majesty had been shot, he was hit in the neck. I saw that, I also saw him fall down.”

Kumar Gorakh (Princess Sruti's husband, still in hospital): “I heard gunshots, I thought it was crackers. I didn’t know what was happening, then I saw His Majesty fall. Then everyone started saying “What happened, what have you done?” I ran from the corner to the side where His Majesty was. I looked at him and said he’s been shot, then when I was returning, well…what to say… Dipendra Shah (sobs) came and shot everyone who was there. I was behind a table or something when I was hit and fell to the floor. He was going in and out. The only person with a gun was Dipendra Shah, no one else was there. He returned and picked out those who had been hurt, took aim and shot, took aim and shot…what else is there to say (weeps). He had at least two machine guns. Also perhaps a pistol. I think I saw that much. I don’t know the make of the machine gun. But when he held up the gun there was a flash. I thought this is the end, that was when I was hit. I fell. I could not move. Then my wife (Sruti) came to see what had happened to father. I said: ‘Baba, malai pani dagyo’ (I have also been hit). She took me in her lap, then he came and shot her. Both of us fell there and others came and took us to hospital.” 

Rabi Sumshere Rana (Married to King Birendra’s aunt): “…His Majesty had taken a Coca-Cola and moved towards the billiard table, I was two or three steps behind and he called me. I moved forward and he asked how I was. I said everything was fine and then Mahesh Kumar entered and said his wife could not come because of arthritis. His Majesty moved forward and said that gout, uric acid, cholesterol were in the family. Before he had finished talking about cholesterol, Mahesh Kumar left and another man came (towards us). Not army uniform, that dress is known as a fatigue, I looked closely and I noticed it was the Crown Prince. I thought he looked at me and I think he smiled. Then there was a burst of three shots. What to do. His Majesty just stood and watched, I just stood there watching. I knew he was a happy-go-lucky person, but this was no way to fool around. Then I saw blood gushing out of king’s side. I yelled: “Doctor!”. ... the King said ‘What have you done?’ He (Dipendra) had bolted out of the room. Then, in utter panic, I screamed for an ambulance...” 

Maheswor Kumar Singh (married to King Birendra’s aunt): “…When I arrived the Crown Prince was already there. He was playing billiards on his own. He asked me to take a drink. He was manning the bar himself... I took a drink and parked it on a table. It was about 7:30-7:45, and he (Dipendra) went out. His Majesty the King was not there yet. So we went to greet the Queen Mother, and Her Majesty the Queen was also there. We were chatting when His Majesty arrived at about 8:30, and then I stepped out. After about 10-15 minutes His Majesty...went to the Billiard Room.

He (the king) had a drink in his hand…I went up and told him my wife could not come and were talking about health, ...(at about) 8:50-8:55. I heard a sound from behind and turned back. I saw the Crown Prince in complete battle dress, cap, an automatic weapon could be clearly seen in his hands. About one or two seconds later there were two sounds. I thought it was from the TV. It was very near my ears and thought my eardrums had burst, I blinked. I turned to see what was happening…Rajeev Shahi was already running towards us and stood behind King Birendra trying to support him. …I think I saw the queen rushing out…” 

Ketaki Chester (Prince Basundhara’s daughter): “I saw him (Dipendra) coming in from the main door in combat uniform carrying two machine guns…I did not think they were real. My sister (Jayanti) was near me and I said, “Isn’t he too old to come in a uniform in front of other people?” My sister is now dead. She said, I don’t know. Then I thought he was bringing the weapons to show them to His Majesty. He walked straight into the room and stood about 10 feet away from His Majesty then I heard a bang. I did not think it was a gunshot. The gun in his right hand was aimed upwards. Then I smelt something and told my sister this could be ammunition. He turned and headed out, we stepped forward and saw that His Majesty had been hit and he was falling down slowly…later I saw Her Majesty marching out of the door, I called out to her twice. I heard the machine gun fire twice and told Dhirendra whom I was holding: ‘He may have shot Her Majesty’…when Her Majesty ran out, ..., I saw Nirajan running after her…”

Capt Rajeev Shahi (husband of Dhirendra’s daughter, ): ”I heard that His Majesty had been shot. By the time he had already fallen. I opened the coat and pressed the right side of his neck (to stop the bleeding). The king said “Rajeev, I’ve also been hit in my stomach”…I had not seen the Crown Prince until then because he had run out. Then he came back in. Dhirendra Shah had tried to stop him saying ‘Baba what are you doing?’ and he was shot.”

Colonel Sunder Pratap Rana (ADC to His Majesty the King who was 40 or 50 m away from the scene of the crime): “The time was…after nine, after nine. There was a sound of the cupboard moving. I said what was happening and Major Gajendra (Bohra, Dipendra’s ADC) stepped out. As soon as he stepped out, I heard gunshots and Her Majesty’s, a woman’s voice saying ‘call the doctor.’ I tried to call the doctor on my mobile, and could not. Then I ordered for the fighting force and moved forward. There was another round of firing. I kept moving forward. Inside the hall I saw people on the ground, but could not make out where who was. I was running from outside and looking inside… I found the His Majesty in a group and felt if I carried His Majesty and went back the same way the same man who had shot him could attack us, so I ordered that the door be broken. We checked his airways, bleeding and circulation, His Majesty had survive(d) the attack. We then put him in a car and left for the hospital.” 

Major Ananta Keshar Shima (ADC to Her Majesty, who was also in the nearby office): “A woman’s voice had ordered us to call a doctor, it could have been Sruti’s or Her Majesty’s voice. Then I tried to call a doctor from the office telephone. After failing to get through to the army hospital and doctor I went towards where the firing had come from. By the time the door had been broken. I helped the colonel carry His Majesty out and after the car left, I went back to call the doctor again and ordered more vehicles…I looked around for Her Majesty and not finding her in the room I came back to the ADC room and called the nanny in her quarters. The nanny told me Her Majesty had not returned so I went out towards the garden, where I met Major Gajendra. As we went forward we saw a body near a bend. It was groaning, coming up close I recognised the Crown Prince and ordered the people with me to take him away. Then while I was turning around, I saw Prince Nirajan flat (sic)… and sent him to hospital.” Because I had not yet found Her Majesty I went in…I saw something red on the side of the door, I ran up the stairs and there was Her Majesty. Because I could not carry her on my own I called the military police, put her in a car and took her to hospital.”

Major Gajendra Bohara (ADC to Dipendra, also in the ADC office at the time): “I was working on the computer when Sunder Pratap said what happened? I stepped out and then heard the sound of firing, and said “sir I can hear shots.” I went straight ahead and reached the broken door. From there my eyes went to the entrance door. I saw the crown prince step out and pulled at the door (broken one). I knew the door would be locked from the inside, then I ran around and peeped but I could not see anything, then I turned back. At that time I saw another ADC coming and moved forward—slowly—because I had seen firearms. My aim was to protect the crown prince…by the time the colonel had entered the room, and I also saw that inside all had fallen…All had fallen but at the time I did not even think that the crown prince had shot himself, I was only thinking of how to get him under control, if nothing had happened to him it would take much time to control him, so we were looking around slowly. Then we heard a sound from the stairs leading to the garden. It was a loud groaning noise, the groaning was there till we had reached the hospital. Following the noise we found the crown prince and brought him out…” 

Captain Chakra Shah (ADC to the Queen Mother): “…After hearing ‘call the doctor, call the doctor’ we ran towards (the room). I was on duty in the area for the first time so I did not know where the entrance was…I tried to open the door, others broke the door and stepped in, later I followed. They had covered His Majesty and because my responsibility was the Queen Mother, I began to look for her…I searched for the Queen Mother among the female corpses but did not find her…then I came out from another window…then I didn’t know where she was coming from, she called me ‘Chakra…” 

Captain Pawan Khatri: (ADC His Majesty the king, in the duty room after the king went to Tribhuvan room from his office): “We were chatting when there was a bang, bang sound from outside. We had just stepped out when we heard loud firing. Then we heard ‘call the doctor’ from inside. The Colonel was on the phone, on the set I called for the military police and ran forward…when I reached near (the room), I saw a man in combat fatigue leave from the back door, in the garden-side door with a gun whose light was on, the gun was facing this side (sic) and the person was about to turn. The light on the gun was still on. I stood outside and had my pistol in my hands, after that I went to support Colonel Sunder Pratap.” 

Santa Bahadur Khadka, Kitchen Boy: “…The Crown Prince was moving backwards with guns in two hands, he was moving backwards and the (woman in red) was in front of him, we could not recognise her… The two were not talking, they were running, shouting, screaming. I cannot say who was speaking. The women in the room were screaming.” 

Bacchuram KC, Kitchen boy: “I had gone inside (the room) with cold drinks about two minutes before the incident. After I had come about 10 metres north from the door of the room, the Crown Prince came in army dress. He had a gun in front. I thought he may be going out somewhere. The firing started the moment (he entered) the room, then I became scared, my heart began pounding, I ran away. …I had seen (guns) in two of his hands, one was big, another small…He was in a scary position…. Seeing him with weapons, I was scared, my heart skipped a beat (mutu chaskiyo), still I stood by and watched where he was heading. But after he went in and I heard the loud noise, there was no point for me to stay there.

Soon, the Children’s War?

There’s a relatively new but alarmingly fast-growing phenomenon that needs the attention of Nepali child and human rights activitsts. The recent Global Report on Child Soldiers 2001 released last week by Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers says that about 30 percent of the guerillas involved in the underground CPN-Maoist led People’s War are children. The report claims that Maoists are using school students and younger children in the five-year-old insurgency. Six guerrillas under 18 were killed in a single encounter in 1999 in Kavrepalanchok district. “The Maoist leadership is fully aware that children under 18 are recruited to their cause,” says National Human Rights Commission member Professor Kapil Shrestha.

The Report says that while the recruitment of children is not yet a widespread occurrence, there are “symptoms” that it could turn into a serious problem soon. Most of the children in the Maoist insurgency are believed to be between the ages of 14 and 18, but the presence and use of even younger children cannot be ruled out. The Report points out to the possibilities that they are being forced to pick up arms against their will. The Human Rights and Peace Society, a Nepali rights NGO, reported that at least 30 children were abducted by the Maoists last year, but it cannot confirm if they were abducted to be trained for the life of insurgents.

The 1962 Royal Nepal Army New Recruitment Rules requires that a person be at least 18 year old to be recruited. Similarly, the Asia-Pacific Conference on the Use of Children as Soldiers held here in 2000 endorsed the same age provision for recruitment in the army.  

How are Nepali women doing?

Not too well, according to the World Bank. A new Bank study concludes that women’s subordinate position in society is the main impediment to their accessing health care facilities.

Other reasons rural Nepali women often do not receive adequate care are lack of knowledge, an unwillingness to disclose illness and ignoring ailments. Such attitudes to sickness are usually the result of other phenomena like few trained women at health care posts, and the unavailability of cash, an excessive workload , and caste-based discrimination, all of which are found to impact women’s health more than that of men. The study says that flawed policies compound the problem. Rural women would have better access to health care if women were better represented at the policy level, policymakers understood gender issues better, there were a women’s health database, more staff and supplies and political commitment.

What can be done to improve the situation? The report says starting awareness programmes to increase knowledge about women’s health, “developing women’s capacity to visit health care facilities”, working with traditional healers, encouraging women to participate in health management and incorporating gender issues at every level of planning would all help.

Since we know why Nepali women aren’t healthy, and what to do about it, it should be an easy ride from here on.