Devyani Rana, once the girlfriend of NepalÂ’s crown prince Dipendra who killed himself and nine relatives in a 2001 palace bloodbath, wed an Indian politicianÂ’s son in New Delhi, reports said Sunday. Rana, 34, who is related on her motherÂ’s side to IndiaÂ’s aristocratic Scindia family, fled Nepal after an intoxicated Dipendra shot his parents, King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya, and seven other royals, before killing himself. Unofficial reports said the crown princeÂ’s shooting spree was probably triggered by his parentsÂ’ opposition to his plans to marry Rana, whose family had been at loggerheads with the kingdomÂ’s monarchs.Devyani, who belongs to the Rana clan that ruled Nepal until 1951, married Aishwarya Singh, grandson of IndiaÂ’s human resources development minister, senior Congress party politician Arjun Singh, according to media reports. The wedding took place Friday at the Scindia family home with a reception at the ministerÂ’s residence on Saturday, at which the bride wore an orange outfit embroidered with orange brocade, the Indian Express daily said.
The groom wore a pale blue traditional Indian suit and a multicoloured turban, pictures showed. He runs his own consultancy business while Devyani works for the United Nations in New Delhi, the Express said. Over 5,000 guests, including Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi, attended the high-society wedding.
RanaÂ’s father, Pashupati Shamsher Rana, has been one of NepalÂ’s most influential politicians, heading a faction of the Rashtriya Prajatantrik Party. The June 1, 2001, killings threw Kathmandu into turmoil, and several people were injured in rioting. Dipendra, who studied at BritainÂ’s exclusive Eton College, was proclaimed king while in a coma, before he succumbed to his self-inflicted gunshot injuries two days later.