'Queen Aishwarya was shot first'

By Atul Aneja

KATHMANDU, JUNE 9. As investigations related to last Friday's massacre gather momentum, it is now clear that the first to be killed in the shootout at the Narayanhiti Palace here was not the late King Birendra but Queen Aishwarya.

According to authoritative sources, Queen Aishwarya was shot in the head, and in fact, so intense was the firing that her forehead was blown off. The next to die was King Birendra. He was shot in the head three times and not in the neck, as was it was initially thought. The new Queen, Komal, Queen Aishwarya's sister, received a bullet in her right rib cage while Princess Shruti was shot in the lower abdomen. Prince Dhirendra died of bullet injuries in his chest while Prince Niranjan, the sources said, had several bullets pumped through his body.

The shooting, the sources said, began around 8.50 p.m. local time and lasted till around 9.15 p.m. The victims were not rushed to the military hospital till around 9.30 p.m.

Incidentally, Prince Niranjan's engagement had been fixed for June 9.

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