Bizarre Rumors Swirl in Nepal Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Sunday June 3 7:04 AM ET (via Yahoo) Bizarre Versions of How Nepal Royals Died By Rahul Sharma KATHMANDU, Nepal (Reuters) - A lovesick prince gone mad? An automatic weapon that exploded by itself? Such were the increasingly bizarre explanations for the massacre Friday night of Nepal's royal family in which King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and six others died. In scenes reminiscent of Britain's mourning for Princess Diana in 1997, crowds of shocked and sobbing Nepalis queued up outside the royal palace Sunday to pay respects to their popular monarchs. Others strewed flowers alongside huge pictures of the king and queen put up at crossroads, while barbers did brisk business as Nepali men had their heads shaved in the Hindu tradition of mourning. Though the streets of Kathmandu were mostly calm, there were occasional protests against official explanations for the massacre, first blamed on the crown prince himself and then on an automatic weapon exploding by accident. "According to the information received by us, they were injured when an automatic weapon suddenly exploded," state radio announced Sunday. A ballistics expert in New Delhi said, however, that such a scenario was impossible. "It cannot go off on its own. Someone has to pull the trigger first. After that it can continue to fire automatically," an Indian army colonel, who did not wish to be named, said. The radio announcement replaced an earlier explanation given by officials that Crown Prince Dipendra had shot his parents and then himself in what media reports described as a row over his choice of bride. The 29-year-old prince, declared king by the Himalayan country's privy council Saturday, was still critically ill on Sunday, the radio said. His uncle, Prince Gyandendra, named regent since the new king was in a coma, also issued a statement suggesting the massacre was the result of an automatic weapon going off by accident. He was out of town at the time of the killings. PROTESTERS DEMAND FACTS Some 200 men and women, many of the men with shaved heads, marched through the streets demanding execution for the king's killers and scoffed at the official explanations of the deaths. "There is definitely a large conspiracy here. How can the person who was going to be the king commit such an act? This is just not plausible. Nobody is telling us the facts," said one protester, who gave his name as Chand. "We are not being given access to the hospital. There is no credible official announcement. Nobody from the palace is speaking out a single word. The people of Nepal are very confused," added Mahinder Dhapa. Officials have admitted they do not really know what happened inside the palace Friday night to cause the worst mass killing of royalty since the 1918 murder of the last Tsar of Russia and his family by Bolshevik revolutionaries. The palace was closed Sunday, though hundreds queued up outside to pay condolences, carrying roses and other flowers. Small groups were taken in through a huge gate to a small guardhouse to sign condolence books hastily placed alongside a picture of the dead king and queen. Some left flowers outside the palace gates, with condolence cards reading, "to our beloved royal family." One card spoke of "this time of grief for the royal family and the entire kingdom." KING A UNIFYING FIGUREHEAD The late king, cremated along with his wife and family on the banks of the holy Bagmati river Saturday, enjoyed great popularity in Nepal, particularly since he ceded absolute power in favor of a British-style constitutional monarchy in 1990. Many saw him as the figurehead holding together the impoverished country, wracked by political infighting and Maoist insurgency in recent years. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala urged calm and said his government was confident that the true facts of the tragedy would made known to the public. But analysts say the royal massacre could have a major impact on stability in the nation of 22 million people. Koirala has come under pressure to quit over corruption allegations and has faced violent street protests against him. Some protesters hurled stones at police Saturday, accusing the government of being behind the slayings. Along the funeral route cries of "Girija resign" were heard. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytas-06.03.01-16:37:30-25645