AFP
 
New Delhi, Feb 22: Devyani Rana, once the girlfriend of Nepal's crown prince Dipendra who killed himself and nine family members in a 2001 palace massacre, is due to marry into an Indian family, an official said on Wednesday.

Rana, 34, who is related to India's aristocratic Scindia family, fled Nepal after the bloodbath in which a drunken Dipendra shot his parents, King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya, and seven other royals before killing himself.

Unofficial reports said the crown prince's shooting spree was probably triggered by his parents' opposition to his plans to marry Rana, whose family had been at loggerheads with the kingdom's monarchy.

Devyani, who belongs to the Rana clan that ruled Nepal until 1951, will marry Ashwarya Singh, a grandson of India's human resources development minister and Congress party loyalist Arjun Singh, according to media reports.

Officials at the Scindia family house in New Delhi, where two days of ceremonies will take place beginning Thursday, confirmed that wedding preparations were on.

Rana's father, Pashupati Shamsher Rana, has been one of Nepal'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 Britain's exclusive Eton College, was proclaimed king while in a coma, before he succumbed to his self-inflicted gunshot injuries two days later.

His uncle, Gyanendra, took over as king and moved to take direct control of the government in February 2005, but was ousted in April 2006 after weeks of massive street protests.

Top politicians, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, have been invited to the wedding, which is expected to be a lavish affair.

The nuptials will be one of the three most keenly awaited wedding ceremonies this year.

Media have reported that British model and actress Elizabeth Hurley and Indian businessman Arun Nayar plan a celebrity-packed ceremony at an 18th century heritage hotel in the desert state of Rajasthan.

Bollywood beauty and former Miss World, Aishwarya Rai, and her boyfriend Abhishek Bachchan, son of acting legend Amitabh Bachchan, are also reportedly planning to wed in Rajasthan. Both weddings are said to be scheduled for March.