Nepal''s ex-Crown Prince Paras may ''lose elite army security''

Kathmandu, Jan 11 (PTI) Nepal''s controversial formerCrown Prince Paras Shah, who was involved in a gun brawl withthe family members of Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koiralalast month, may no longer get the protection of the army''selite security guards, a news report said today.

38-year-old Paras, notorious for his playboylifestyle, was freed on bail after being arrested for firinghis gun in a forest resort in Chitwan during a late-nightdrunken brawl with the son-in-law and the daughter of thedeputy premier on December 11.

The Nepal Army (NA) is in no mood this time to deputeits personnel, who were pulled out after the "infamous" TigerTops firing incident, for his security, said myrepublica, thewebsite of Republica newspaper today.

"While the ex-royals get out on drinking sprees andrecreational activities, how long can commoners� sons becomescapegoats of their misconduct," an army source was quoted assaying in the report.

The unnamed source was of the opinion that under nocircumstances was the army going to re-depute personnel forthe security of Paras, who has been involved in numerous gunbrawls under the influence of alcohol.

The former royals continue to enjoy the security ofthe elite guards from the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force andNepal Army, who are paid from state coffers.

Paras, the only son of deposed King Gyanendra, hadbeen involved in several escapades in the Nepalese capital''snight spots. He had earlier allegedly opened fire in thecapital''s five star Everest Hotel during an altercation whilehe was accompanied by his wife Himani, the report said.

Following the Tiger Tops gun brawl last month, sevenNepal Army personnel under the command of Captain Suraj Thapawere dragged into the controversy as the legal status of theweapon that Paras fired from was brought into question.

A Court of Inquiry was set up on December 14 to lookinto the incident even as the army withdrew its elite securitypersonnel to headquarters.

No action was initiated against them as the armybelieved that its personnel had nothing to do with the firingand they had merely become scapegoats.

Moreover, the army had also turned down the request ofthe Ministry of Home Affairs to hand over the seven securitypersonnel to the civilian authority.

Nepal''s almost three-century-old monarchy wasabolished in 2008 when Paras''s father Gyanendra was dethronedafter the landmark Constituent Assembly elections that broughtthe Maoists to power.

Paras, who has been mostly staying in Singapore sincehe left the Narayanhiti Royal Palace in the heart of thecapital in June 2008, has returned to Nepal recently where hiswife has launched a fund to help deprived women, in a movewidely seen as an attempt to rehabilitate the family''sbattered public image. PTI