Gyanendra in India on a private visit

New Delhi, Feb 26 (ANI): Nepal's last king Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah arrived here on Wednesday, reportedly on a fortnight long private visit.

Accompanied by his wife, former queen Komal, and sister, former princess Shobha Shahi, the 62-year-old Gyanendra flew from Kathmandu and landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport as a commoner.

On his arrival, when media personnel asked about his relations with India, the former king of the Shah dynasty said that it is a private visit to attend a family wedding and also visit certain Hindu shrines in India.

"I have not come for anything else here. I have come to attend a family wedding. You have to ask the present Government and the people of Nepal about the current situation in Nepal," said Gyanendra.

The former king has ventured outside Nepal for the first time since his plan to rule the country with the help of the army in 2005 backfired, leading to his fall from power.

After a mass civil unrest, eventually the 239-year-old regal institution was abolished in 2008 with the formation of an elected Government of communists to rule the Himalayan nation. (ANI)