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The commission appointed to probe the royal massacre is set to begin its work Thursday with only two members, raising doubts about its credibility. The final format of the commission also has crashed hopes of achieving a larger political consensus over the inquiry.
King Gyanendra and Prime Minister G P Koirala met late Wednesday evening but failed to arrive at a consensus with the King refusing to alter the constitution of the commission. Earlier, there was a larger political consensus on expanding the commission to accommodate more members, including experts.
However, the Royal Palace came out with an unexpected decree late Wednesday, with the King accepting opposition leader Madhav Nepal's resignation and giving the terms of reference of the probe commission. The evening meeting between prime minister and King was also attended by the Chief Justice of Nepal Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya and Speaker Taranath Ranabhat.
During the day, political parties had agreed on a larger commission, where Madhav Nepal's party, the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) would be represented by another senior leader. However, King is believed to have put his foot down on the issue.
The commission, officials said, would be setting up its office Thursday and would begin its actual work from Friday. "We don't expect the report before Monday," a senior government official told rediff.com.
A communique from the palace said, the commission will submit to the King a report along with true facts about the incident. The commission has been authorised by the King to visit the site of incident and take photographs.
They have been allowed to acquire information from the family members and other individuals present at the gathering on June 1, security personnel and others and doctors and nurses who treated the royal family.
The committee can collect and examine weapons and bullets linked with the incident, and obtain details of examinations from the hospital and receive external assistance of experts.
According to the communique, the term of office of the committee would be three days from the date of taking charge.
The commission is expected to submit its report by early next week.
Death of a Monarch: The Complete Coverage
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