Nepal: Mourning week ends
An official week of mourning ended in Nepal today as investigators raced against their deadline for unravelling the royal family’s massacre in the Narayanhiti palace.
The two palace-appointed investigators began their day digging through piles of medical reports and talking with military experts, with just one day to go before they must report back to King Gyanendra on the tragedy that placed him on the throne.
The investigators, Supreme Court Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhaya and House Speaker Taranath Ranabhat, started yesterday by visiting the scene of the killing, questioning eyewitnesses and taking photographs.
Gyanendra has promised the public would get an explanation, following massive outbursts of anger that sparked riots earlier in the week by people demanding answers.
The attack with an automatic weapon, widely blamed on Crown Prince Dipendra, claimed 10 lives, including Dipendra, who allegedly turned a gun on himself.
He was technically a monarch while on life support for three days but acting king Gyanendra took the throne permanently when Dipendra died on Monday.
The official period of mourning for Dipendra ended at midnight yesterday and the people of the impoverished Himalayan kingdom sought more normality in their lives, which were also interrupted by three curfews called early in the week to prevent rioting.
Though Government offices and banks will not open until Monday, more restaurants and stores began to clean up and open for business.
Rashmi Silwal, a housewife who lined up with flowers in her hands with thousands of other people outside the royal palace gate, said: ‘‘The official mourning period may be over but in our hearts we still cry for the loss of our beloved king and queen.’’
