Witness Tells How Nepal Prince Turned Killer

June 6 -- Minutes before embarking on the world's worst royal rampage since the Bolshevik killing of the Russian royal family, Nepal's Crown Prince Dipendra was reportedly tending bar at a traditional family dinner.

The chubby, bon vivant prince then is said to have left the weekly royal dinner party at around 9 p.m. last Friday, only to return, this time in military uniform and bearing two automatic weapons.

His first victim was his father, King Birendra, according to an account told by an immediate relative of a witness to the killings. The king apparently fell to the ground with a look of "utter astonishment" on his face, the unnamed witness told British daily The Times and the Washington Post in a joint interview.

Five days after the royal bloodbath that ended with the death of 10 royal family members, including Dipendra, Nepal is still attempting to recover from the shock.

The government today lifted a two-day curfew set to curtail rioting on the streets of Katmandu after hundreds of protesters took to the streets on Monday.

Pedestrians and traffic crowded the narrow streets of Katmandu and mourners at the royal palace were allowed to pay condolences to the departed king.

Police shot and wounded 14 people for defying the curfew Tuesday and a total of more than 400 curfew violators have been arrested over the past two days.

Inquiry in Disarray

On the streets of Katmandu, anger over the lack of official explanations for the killings have been mounting. But an official probe ordered by the new king, Gyanendra, has fallen into disarray after an opposition politician refused to join the team.

The investigative team was scheduled to submit its findings on Thursday, but that deadline looks unlikely to be met.

But even as official explanations were not forthcoming, witness accounts in local media appeared to corroborate the reports in The Times and Post.

Initial reports said Dipendra had murdered most his family over an altercation with his mother, Queen Aishwarya, sparked by his desire to marry the daughter of a Nepali politician whose family has ties to former royal families in India.