The Kot Massacre

Though it was nearing midnight, Queen Lakshmidevi ordered Abhiman Singh to immediately convene all the military leaders and nobles in Kathmandu at the palace armory (the kot). She went on to demand the capture of Gagan Singh’s murderer, working herself and the crowd into a frenzy, and ordered the execution of a leader she believed to be behind the assassination. Abhiman Singh refused to carry out the order, as it did not come from the king, and at that point, chaos broke out. Abhiman Singh attempted to leave the kot to find his troops and was killed. Desperate fighting ensued all over the kot and dozens of the highest ranking Nepalese died.

Jang Bahadur somehow managed to be the only military leader in control of his troops and they eventually managed to stop the fighting in the kot, though not before most of Jang Bahadur’s enemies lay dead on the ground of the courtyard. With all the nearest contenders conveniently out of the way, Jang Bahadur became prime minister of Nepal the next day, and remained in that position until 1877.

Major source of information: Library of Congress Country Studies - Nepal

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