An inquiry ordered by Nepal's new king into the massacre of the royal family was in disarray today after the main opposition refused to take part and a fresh account of what happened blamed the late crown prince.
The
Washington Post
quoted an immediate relative of a witness as saying Crown Prince Dipendra shot dead his father and other members of his family before turning the gun on himself.
"Why he did it, we may never know, but this is actually what happened," the paper quoted the relative as saying. "The family knows the truth, so if there is some kind of whitewash, I am sure various family members will speak up."
Crown Prince Dipendra, who had been in a coma since Friday's incident, died on Monday from gunshot wounds.
King Gyanendra has spoken of an accident and state radio has blamed an exploding automatic weapon.
Newly crowned King Gyanendra's wife and sister were wounded in Friday's bloodbath and are among witnesses who could be questioned.
The main opposition Unified Marxist Leninist party has said it is not prepared to sit on the panel the king set up to contain a tide of public anger over the massacre, arguing the government should have named the panel for him to appoint.
Mr Madhav Kumar Nepal, who heads the United Marxist Leninist Party, said it would be better if the inquiry included other political parties - among them the ruling Congress party led by Prime Minister Mr Girija Prasad Koirala.