Ex-king’s son-in-law flees Nepal after brush with law

KATHMANDU - Former king Gyanendra’s son-in-law Raj Bahadur Singh, who has been showing a penchant for getting into controversies, has fled Nepal after his brush with the law last week that got him handcuffed and cooling his heels inside a police cell.

Singh, a commoner who became a celebrity overnight in 2003 as well as a power to reckon with after his marriage to King Gyanendra’s daughter, Princess Prerana, hastily took off for Singapore Sunday after hitting the headlines for being arrested by police from his own nightclub for drunken and disorderly conduct Saturday.

The 34-year-old chose to grab the first flight that was available though it involved a detour through Bangkok as he was anxious to escape the anger of his ex-royal relatives, the Jana Aastha weekly reported Wednesday.

The tabloid, known for its hawk eye on Nepal’s celebrities, especially the former royals, said deposed king Gyanendra and his son, former crown prince Paras, received a shock when they learnt about Singh’s escapade from the dailies.

Paras, once known to be hitting the headlines for similar reasons, was livid to learn that Singh had to spend almost eight hours in a police cell after a patrol arrested him and over a dozen inebriated companions, including women, for carousing at the Club Platinum nightclub after closing hours.

The former crown prince, now apparently turning over a new leaf and seen visiting Nepal’s temples and hospitals instead of discotheques, felt the negative publicity ensuing from Singh’s arrest had dragged the former royal family’s name through mud.

This is the second time in two years that Singh had a brush with the police. Last year, a late night party thrown by him in Thamel area of the capital was broken up by police after neighbours complained.

In 2009, he was bailed out by the former royals after they came to know about the son-in-law’s predicament.

However, this time, Singh feared to inform the former royals. Instead, leaders from the ruling communist party called police repeatedly to pressurise them into releasing him, Jana Aastha said.

Since the abolition of monarchy in Nepal two years ago, both Paras and Singh have a foot each in Singapore.

Singh, a businessman who used his royal connections in the past to drive questionable bargains, had at one time seemed ready to migrate to Singapore.

However, recently, he had given up his plans to go into-self-exile and was consolidating business deals in Nepal.

He has also joined a minor political party that says it is trying to create a bridge between the former royals and their one-time arch enemy, the Maoists.

(Sudeshna Sarkar can be contacted at sudeshna.s@ians.in)