Deependra's drug supplier close to family: Aide KATHMANDU: Nepal's late crown prince and later king, Deependra, accused of committing the June 1 palace massacre, had over the years become addicted to drugs, which were provided to him by someone within the family circle itself, according to the submissions made by his close aide to the high-level official panel which inquired into the incident. "His late majesty's habit of smoking a special kind of cigarette, prepared with 'ganja' and another black substance had worsened since the last one and a half years. He had become so addicted to it that he used to smoke it in front of every one, including at social gatherings," Deependra's ADC (aide de camp) Raju Kumar Karki is quoted as saying in the excerpts of the probe report published in the state-owned Nepalese daily Gorkhapatra here on Sunday. Recalling an incident at the Army Club, Karki claims that he requested Deependra not to use the cigarette and the latter got angry and asked him, "what do you think (you are)?" On being asked by the two-member inquiry committee about the source of his supply, Karki said, "I do not want to blame anyone for it, but I believe that he used to get it from within the family circle." The two-member panel, headed by Chief Justice Keshab Prasad Upadhyaya, whose report was made public on Thursday, had alleged that Deependra shot and killed his father king Birendra, mother queen Aishwarya and seven other royals with automatic weapons at the Narayanhity Palace, after a heavy intake of liquor and drugs. Deependra's other ADC, Gajendra Bohara, in his statement before the panel, had claimed that on the fateful night, the crown prince ordered him by mobile phone to fetch the special cigarette. Questioned whether Deependra's girlfriend Devyani was aware of his addiction, Karki said, "she may have been aware because he used to smoke before her also." In his submission before the committee, Ramakrishna K C, the late crown prince's orderly claimed that after being taken to his bedroom in a drunken state, prior to the shooting, Deependra vomited in the bathroom and thereafter put on his battle fatigue and proceeded to the billiards room, where the royals were seated. "I asked him whether he needed the emergency bag and his majesty said it is not required now," the orderly is quoted as saying. The orderly also claimed that the prince also fired at him as he went on a shooting spree. As per the instruction of the new King Gyanendra, the 220-page report of the probe committee has been posted on the Internet and is being serialised in the state-owned Nepalese daily Gorkhapatra. It has also been kept for reference at the National Library, Tribhuwan University library and the Nepal Press Institute. The Nepalese government on Friday also announced formation of a five-member secretary level committee to study the report and suggest means to implement the panel's recommendations on enhancing security in the palace. The committee was asked to submit its report within five days. (PTI)
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