Dipendra killed his family for love, weapons: Nepal ex-prince

Kathmandu: Nepal's ex-crown prince Paras has said late prince Dipendra had killed his family for a multi-million dollar arms deal and love, local media reports said in Kathmandu on Monday.

''Nepal Army was looking for a new weapon to replace the Belgian SLR. Dipendra liked the German Heckler & Koch G36 assault rifle, as opposed to the battle-tested Colt M16,'' Kantipur quoted ex-prince Paras as saying in an interview to The New Paper Sunday.

The ex-prince has been living in Singapore since July 2008 after the monarchy was abolished in Nepal.

''But His Majesty, did not agree. I know that they argued over it. Dipendra was frustrated. He wasn't happy. He told me,'' Sunday's edition quoted Paras as saying.

''The German assault rifle had been short-listed by the army, which was in the market for 50,000 new guns. According to Paras, his cousin's advisers had been working on the deal, which could have brought the crown prince a windfall,'' Paras added.

''That, to me, was the real trigger. The deal would have probably been for about 50,000 rifles, which at $300 a piece, would work out to about $15 million,''Paras told the English language tabloid.

Paras's interview, according to the daily, was a reaction to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's recent statement that the government would reopen the investigation into the Royal Palace Massacre on the night of June 1, 2001.

Paras said Dipendra needed the money since he was already making plans for the possibility that he would have to leave the country suddenly if things didn't work out for him.

''I think this was his back-up plan. The palace was a hotbed of contending interests,'' said Paras.

In 1990, King Birendra promulgated the new Constitution and ended almost 30 years of absolute monarchy.

Paras further stated ''Dipendra was never the same after his father told him in 1990 about plans to give up monarchy. He never agreed with that as he wanted to rule the country. I think he started planning his moves then.''

The second reason was his love for Devyani Rana. The royal family did not want Dipendra to marry her as she was from a rival family.

Paras dismissed the notion that his cousin had shot the family on impulse after drinking heavily that night.''He had talked to us (the younger generation of Nepali royalty) about it a year before it happened,'' Paras revealed.

''I remember it clearly. It was his birthday in 2000 and he told all of us that he would bring down the 'ivory tower'. But we didn't take him seriously. How could we?' 'This was the crown prince talking. He was going to be our king. And who would believe that he would kill his own father?'' he asked.