Though he has repeatedly said Birendra's son Dipendra pulled the trigger and unleashed the deaths, he has never been believed by Nepalis who fear there was a deeper conspiracy behind the carnage.

The Maoists have all along accused Gyanendra and Paras of having engineered the tragedy, an allegation that Gyanendra rejected while handing over his crown and throne last year.

The tabloid, which is close to the Maoists, said the plan could not be put into action as a member of the 'special task force' created to execute it fell into the hands of the army and the plot was revealed.

Quoting the then Maoist in-charge of Kathmandu Valley, Kumar Dahal, the report said the STF had planned to use a car bomb to kill Gen Thapa. But following the arrest of a plotter, known only as Ranjit, the car was recovered from the garage where it was being readied for the task.

The rebels had planned to abduct Paras, known for his fondness for frequenting discotheques and night clubs, from such a place and its members, posing as affluent businessmen, lived in hotels in Kathmandu's prime tourist location Thamel as part of the surveillance.

Ranjit's arrest led to further arrests of senior Maoist leaders, the report said.

While one of them, Krishna KC, survived long torture and internment in an army barracks in Kathmandu, several of the other plotters are still missing and are believed to have been killed and secretly buried by the army.

Though the Maoist insurgency ended in 2006 after a decade of violence and Gyanendra was dethroned last year, Nepal's politics continues to revolve around the former royals, especially the 2001 palace massacre, which is regarded as the point when Nepal's centuries-old monarchy started unravelling.