So it may not have been Dipendra as earlier supposed and widely circulated.Contradictory claims, terrible theories and sensational stories abound but nothing reliable can be ascertained so far.
Bowing to mounting public demand, Nepal's new king Gyanendra has ordered ajudicial inquiry into the massacre that wiped out virtually the entire royalfamily.
"We have constituted a three-man commission of inquiry headed by thechief justice Keshav Prasad Upadhya to investigate the circumstances leading tothe tragic incident," the king said in a statement broadcast on stateradio.
The commission would submit its report to him within three days, the kingsaid.
Other members of the commission are parliament speaker Tara Nath Rana Bhatand leader of the opposition in the house Madhav Kumar of Communist Party of Nepal(UML).
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Earlier, according to BBC, the new king acknowledged that the full facts ofthe shootings had not been disclosed, saying: "There were constitutionaland legal difficulties in expressing what had actually transpired."
Early on Monday, the slain king's son, Dipendra - who had been declared kingon Saturday - died of injuries sustained during the attack.
On Sunday, the official line had changed -- officials denied persistentreports that it was Dipendra who opened fire, describing the incident as anaccident.
Both Gyanendra and Koirala specifically referred to an ''accidental''automatic weapon fire being responsible for the royal massacre that occurredduring a family dinner at the Narayanhiti royal palace on friday night.
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Their statements had no no references to Dipendra being the gunman.
Deputy prime minister Paudel, too, reportedly went back on his statement that had pinpointed Dipendra asthe gunman earlier.
"I never said the crown prince did it," he was quoted as havingsaid.
In a bid to assuage the feelings of the grief stricken people in the Himalayankingdom, Koirala said government would make the facts of the incident publicafter investigating the killings even as many questions remained unanswered overthe circumstances leading to the ghastly tragedy.
At least the bit about Dipendra having shot himself after spraying the royalfamily with bullets that resulted in 8 deaths of the royals, seems totallycontradicted with official sources claiming that Dipendra had received gun shotwounds on his back.
''I want to assure the people that the truth and facts of this incident willbe made public,'' Koirala said.
Elaborating on the royal tragedy, prince Gyanendra in his message broadcastto the people over the state-run media said the injured royal family memberswere taken to army hospital following the accident that took place after an''automatic weapon suddenly exploded.''
Eight of the royal members had succumbed to their wounds despite the bestefforts of the medical staff, he said.
The Nepalese media has also been highlighting the lack of official andauthentic information on what actually happened at the royal dinner beingresponsible for all kinds of rumours about the massacre.
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"People still have not got answers to the mysterious, abnormal and terriblehaphazard shootings which killed Nepal's monarch and his family members," saidthe national daily Nepal Samachar Patra.
