KATHMANDU, Jan 11: With the unruly conduct of former crown prince Paras Shah under inebriated conditions inviting a host of troubles time and again, the Nepal Army (NA) is not in any mood this time to depute its personnel, who were pulled out after the “infamous” Tiger Tops firing incident, for his security.
The ex-crown prince -- who lost his royal status following the proclamation of a republic after the April uprising of 2006 -- had fired one round in the air during an altercation with Rubel Chowdhury, son-in-law of Deputy PM and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala, on December 11.
“While the ex-royals set out on drinking sprees and recreational activities how long can commoners´ sons become scapegoats of their misconduct,” an NA source told Republica, seeking anonymity.
The source was of the opinion that under no circumstances was the NA going to re-depute personnel to security for Shah, who is notorious for opening fire under the influence of alcohol.
In a previous instance also, Shah had allegedly opened fire at the premises of Everest Hotel, but was impeded by his wife Himani from engaging in a fight with a colleague.
Following the Tiger Tops shooting, which Shah admitted to in a public statement one day later, seven NA personnel under the command of Captain Suraj Thapa were dragged into controversy as the legal status of the weapon that Shah fired came into question.
NA then withdrew its security personnel to headquarters and a Court of Inquiry was formed on December 14 to delve into the possible cause of lax security at the site of the incident.
However, no action was initiated against them as NA deemed that its men had nothing to do with the firing and they had merely become scapegoats. Moreover, NA had also turned down the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs to hand over the seven security personnel to police.
As for Shah facing action, he was arrested and released after a brief detention as Chowdhury later changed his statement and said the former crown prince had not in fact opened fire. The firing incident had also co-incidentally unraveled Chowdhury´s involvement in “illegal” rackets including forged passports and international call-bypass.
Despite the consigning of monarchy to history three years ago, the ex-royals still enjoy the services of security personnel from the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and NA, who are paid from state coffers.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=27019
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