Deposed Nepal king stalls dismantling of monarchy

NEPAL’s deposed king is refusing to co-operate with a government committee set up to audit royal property and has still not handed over his crown, an official source said yesterday.

“We realise it’s hard for some people to accept change,” a member of the committee said as he recounted various ways in which ousted king Gyanendra has been trying to stall the dismantling of his 240-year-old monarchy.

“We have not been allowed to look in the residence of the former king. He is not helping us very much in the audit of the crown jewels, valuables and property,” the source said.