Nepalese Crown Prince Was 'Murderer': Massacre Survivor

An inebriated crown prince Dipendra shot and killed with automatic weaponshis father king Birendra and eight other royal family members in a span of 90seconds, the "motive" of which was not not known, a close relative ofthe royal family and survivor of the massacre claimed here today,

"It was the then crown prince Dipendra who carried out the murders. I donot not know what his motive was, but he was just a murderer," Capt (Dr) RajivShahi, son-in-law of the slain king Birendra's youngest brother Dhirendra, whowas present during the shooting said at a hurriedly called press conference.

Shahi's version of Friday night events was the first eyewitness account ofthe gruesome killing wiping out the entire king birendra family.

Giving a graphic account of the sequence of events using a marker and asketch of the Narayanhati palace, Shahi said, he heard a burst of gunfire ataround 9 pm and first thought someone was playing a prank.

"There was shouting and I heard someone say 'His Majesty has beenshot'", he said adding "being a doctor, I ran towards His Majesty. Itook off my coat and pressed it against his neck where he was bleeding."Shahi, who said he escaped the burst of gunfire by ducking, recalled the kingtelling him "I have been shot in the stomach also." During the"one and a half minute" shooting spree, the crown prince in battlefatigue rushed in and out of the large dinning hall targetting his victims in a"very intoxicated" condition.

According to him, just before the shooting Dipendra had heated arguments withhis father after which the king went to an adjoining chamber to meet queen Aishwarya.