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When we sent our intrepid correspondent Mark Corcoran on assignment to India recently, we expected him to return with a colourful postcard about a royal wedding. But things didn’t quite turn out that way. He got to the royal wedding alright, and it was indeed a lavish and spectacular affair. But what Mark hadn’t anticipated was stumbling across a mystery crime that reads like something out of an Agatha Christie. Unfortunately, this whodunit is no fiction.

The story that Mark tells reveals just how much power the old elites still wield in a society that owes much to feudalism.

Rajasthan montage

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02:00

Corcoran in Rajasthan

Corcoran: I’d been invited to a wedding – the union of Indian royalty in the old princely state of Rajasthan. A “once-in-a-decade experience of pageantry and splendour,” I’d been reliably informed. And the most appropriate way to get there. “The Palace on Wheels” – night train to the former Kingdom of Jodhpur.

02:09

Carriage Servant: Welcome on board sir – please – welcome. This is the Jodhpur Saloon, and you are the honourable ? of Jodhpur. Now I will show you your cabin.

02:34

Train

Corcoran: The “Palace” is strictly boutique tourism – a reproduction of the regal Maharaja carriages that once crisscrossed the Raj. These days it’s a fantasy ride for wealthy tourists – watching the third world slide by through the prism of a champagne glass.

02:54

Texan woman

Texan woman: The palaces are beautiful – the art is beautiful – the people are beautiful, like they’re always dressed in the saris – even the women working out in the fields.

03:13

Texan man On-board The Palace on Wheels

Texan man: There are some things you’ve never seen before in your life -- you know, we've been all over the world – but this is going to be different. It's going to be completely different.

03:22

On-board The Palace on Wheels

Train

On-board The Palace on Wheels

Corcoran: In fact far more different than any of us had imagined. We’d set out to explore how former royals had reinvented themselves as living tourist attractions. Instead, we would find a real life saga more akin to Agatha Christie murder mystery – but all that lay at the end of the our odyssey into a world of power and privilege.

03:32

Train

Map of India

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04:00

Meherangarh Fort

Corcoran: “The work of giants and angels” was how that great chronicler of the Raj, Rudyard Kipling, described it. Meherangarh Fort – rising out of India’s western deserts -- ancestral seat of Rajput warrior-kings who ruled this land for 700 years.

04:20

City of Jodhpur

It dominates the blue city of Jodhpur – like many of the clan cities of Rajasthan -- colour coded to distinguish it from the pink and gold cities of rival kingdoms.

04:44

Umaid Bharwan Palace

Somewhat less martial, but equally imposing is the home of the present Maharaja -- the magnificent Umaid Bharwan Palace.

04:56

Chanting

05:05

Corcoran: Today, Gaj Singh the second -- the 37th Maharaja of Jodhpur is hosting a royal wedding.

05:15

Five hundred and sixty-five princely families once ruled a third of the subcontinent, under the benevolent eye of the British. At India’s independence in 1947 they lost their kingdoms. Then in 1971, as India veered towards socialism, they were stripped of their titles, lands, and generous state pensions.

05:28

Today, there’s still plenty of resentment from those born to rule.

05:53

Singh II

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Gaj Singh II

Maharaja of Jodhpur

Maharaja of Jodhpur: From being a person of -- special exalted person – one become sort of persona non grata which meant that the whole bureaucracy worked against you – the politics worked against you and that made life rather difficult.

06:00

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06:16

Hindu Tikka ceremony

Corcoran: But these days life is rather good – and no expense is spared for the Hindu Tikka ceremony – a men-only engagement ritual.

06:22

The groom is the Crown Prince of neighbouring Dungar-pur. Father of the bride is Sunder Singh – Private Secretary to the Maharaja of Jodhpur.

06:36

And this is opium - highly illegal in modern India – but as we’d later discover – these are people used to getting their way. The former warrior-kings of Rajput aren’t about to break tradition for anyone.

06:48

Sunder Singh

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Sunder Singh

Secretary, Maharaja of Jodhpur

Sunder Singh: After the engagement we exchange opium – now exchange opium means confirm of a treaty. Once there’s a treaty we sign the treaty from both parties -- there’s no signature in it. Here you offer opium and they give you back – it is now confirmed.

07:04

Corcoran: And everybody is happy and relaxed?

07:22

Sunder Singh: Yes. Everybody is happy and relaxed and now we -- the ceremony is over – and now we will see the wedding ceremony.

07:24

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07:32

Umaid Bhawan Palace

Corcoran: The excesses of the old Indian royalty were legendary. And Umaid Bhawan Palace stands as one of the last great monuments to that age.

07:40

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Corcoran: It took three thousand workers fifteen years to complete this art deco fantasy in 1943.

07:57

82-year old Shova Kanwar – saw it all. These days she’s unofficial royal family historian and mentor to everyone from the Maharaja down. She insists the palace was built upon a foundation of altruism - a massive job creation scheme.

Kanwar in Umaid Bhawan Palace

Kanwar: Jodhpur went through its worst drought and famine in the twenties and at that time our present Maharaja’s grandfather – Maharaja Mesji - was the ruler. When he wanted to give money to the sectors – he thought financial help was needed – the people themselves said we don’t want charity – give us work and pay us for it and that is the main reason this palace was ever built.

08:22

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08:47

Corcoran: Stripped of their kingdom, titles and income the Jodhpur royals managed to hang onto the palace.

In the 1970s it was partly transformed into a luxury hotel – complete with live-in tourist attractions and exotic wardrobe. For Jodhpur -- not surprisingly – is the home of the famous riding apparel of the same name.

08:58

Kanwar in Umaid Bhawan Palace

Kanwar: I would say, Mark, that this is perhaps the only palace hotel which is still a palace, because the royal family are living here, you can say they are living in their own palace.

09:15

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Wedding reception

Corcoran: Over in the next wing, the wedding guests gather for an informal buffet lunch. Tradition is relaxed so the non-Rajput women can join the men.

09:37

Business is combined with pleasure, and this is as much a networking session for royalty who’ve made the transition from absolute rulers to businessmen and hoteliers.

The Jodhpurs -- regarded as the elite of the elite – their image and reputation unassailable. But already many people gathered in this room were aware of a dark secret that had the potential to undermine the whole edifice.

10:04

No one dared raise the scandal in the Maharaja's presence. Instead, talk turned to family success.

10:22

Shivraj

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Crown Prince Shiv Raj Singh

Shivraj: Well most royalty are now looking into business aspects, whether it be turning their assets into properties and resorts or displaying their artefacts in terms of a museum and archaeology, and these are two aspects of business which are thriving in this part of the world.

10:28

Wedding reception

Shivraj Singh is the crown Prince of Jodhpur. Educated at Eton and Oxford, this heir to the throne is reputedly one of India’s most eligible royal bachelors. It’s a misleading reputation, for he intends following the royal tradition of entering into an arranged marriage.

10:46

These days a touchy issue on the subcontinent. Not long after this wedding, the Crown Prince of Nepal would make world headlines by massacring his family, apparently unhappy with his parents' choice of bride.

11:07

The Nepalese royals can trace their ancestry and traditions back to the Rajputs, but with this Crown Prince there’s not the slightest hint of anger or resentment.

11:21

Shivraj

Shivraj: Traditionally, it is arranged marriages – that’s how we follow. It is to do with astrology – my grandmother and my parents will obviously find someone who's apt to the family – and then I get a choice. I’ll get to meet her and if I don’t see myself being compatible I can say, like, listen I don’t think it’s going to work – and we take it from there – but it will be arranged.

11:31

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11:52

Wedding parade

Corcoran: The wedding night – and as the groom is led to his bride, commoners line the route to pay their respects.

12:00

Music/fireworks

Corcoran: The princes may have lost their absolute power of life and death over these people, but they’ve gained formidable economic clout. In a city dependent on tourism, the Maharaja of Jodhpur is the biggest business in town.

12:15

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Corcoran: The groom is guided through to the women’s section for the final ceremony.

12:38

Singing

Corcoran: It’s an increasingly rare display of harmony for such a large gathering of royals. A number of these families are engaged in bitter internal squabbles over money and property.

12:49

Singing

At three a.m. they finally emerge as man and wife. The bride, 32 year old Princess Saubhagya, a Swiss-trained hotel functions manager, now weighed down by tradition and family expectations.

13:08

Shivraj Singh playing polo

Corcoran: Next day it’s back to business for Shivraj Singh the bachelor Prince of Jodhpur.

13:36

Shivraj: I think it is definitely the whole thrill of being on a beast twice your size and the whole adrenalin rush of being on the ground and being able to put that ball through the post.

13:42

Corcoran: The renewed interest in Indian royalty has made it politically acceptable for the Jodhpurs to revive their “Sport of Kings.”

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Crown Prince Shiv Raj Singh

Shivraj: Now with tourism coming in into the scene, we want to use it as a tourist attraction and maybe invite teams to come and play, which in turn exposes the land to them and Jodhpur as a destination.

14:07

Within the country, we want to be appreciated as to who we are – who were are born to be – and hopefully we will be accepted for who were are and not always constantly pressurised and fingers pointed at.

14:22

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14:35

News montage

Corcoran: A somewhat prophetic remark. Just days later the dark secret was finally revealed – in this expose splashed across the pages of a prestigious Indian magazine.

14:39

Brij Raj Singh -minor royal, polo player and stable manager with the Jodhpur team had been found dead in highly suspicious circumstances some eight months earlier. His battered body found in this palace lake entangled with a blue sari. Several young royals, including the Crown Prince – and Sunder Singh’s own son Vikram – were named by the magazine as suspects.

14:56

Pointing the accusing finger, the dead polo player’s mother Mira Singh.

15:27

Mira Singh

Mira: He was looking after the horses of Gaj Singh, plus he was playing in the polo team.

15:33

My son is here – and this is one of the boys who is one of the suspects – this is the one.

15:41

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Corcoran: But Mira Singh is more than just a grieving mother – she’s also a detective with the multinational private investigation agency Wackenhut. After interviewing several witnesses she claims to have overwhelming evidence that her son was murdered at the drunken lakeside party.

15:52

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Mira Singh

Mira: There was this girl, Rina Singh, who my son was teaching riding, and apparently some of these boys teased her and it upset Rina Singh a lot, so she called for my son and told him to tell these boys to lay off and one of the boys amongst them said 'From where has this servant come from” – in Hindi – and they started hitting him.

16:13

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Corcoran: Sunder Singh -- far more sober in dress and mood – came forward as Royal Family spokesman to refute the allegations.

16:43

Sunder Singh

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Sunder Singh

Secretary, Maharaja of Jodhpur

Sunder: Well, people who know us, they know that is all rubbish. This is all a made up story by her, by Mira Singh, the mother of the unfortunate person who died, Brij Raj.

16:52

Palace lake

Corcoran: The Royal Family version of events has Brij Raj accidentally banging his head before staggering down the steps and jumping into the lake, despite the warning shouts of party goers.

17:09

Sunder: He jumped in the water enthusiastic – he had a couple of beers -- maybe that had made him jump in.

17:21

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Corcoran: Sunder Singh, who’d hosted the party, insists he’d left with the young princes before the incident.

17:37

Sunder Singh

Sunder: I can assure you with a word of honour that they were not at all in this unfortunate incident. Shiv Raj Singh was not in the party my son was with me and he was not there at the time of the death.

17:44

Mira

Mira: I don’t think anyone in their right mind would jump into this lake at two o’clock in the morning as claimed by the police and the boys who were here at that time.

17:58

Sunder

Sunder: Well, I would not like to talk to even at that level because she not an above board woman – she has no character of a woman. Motive is to make money, blackmailing.

18:07

Police

Corcoran: The credibility of the police in investigating the case has also been seriously questioned. They hastily declared death by drowning before all witnesses could be interviewed or a full autopsy completed.

18:21

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Corcoran: According to Rohit Parahar, the “India Today” journalist who broke the story, given the list of those allegedly implicated, there’s no doubt that police are involved in a cover up.

18:42

Rohit Parahar

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Rohit Parahar

Journalist, “India Today”

Rohit: The police have acted in a highly unprofessional manner, and from the royalty side, yes, I would say the kind of statements they have given are totally contrary to the evidence that I have been gathering.

18:54

Mira

Mira: Money is the power of today. I mean you can see it everywhere. So these people have the money and they have the power, but that’s all they have, I’m sorry to say.

19:06

Rohit Parahar

Rohit: By and large the royal families of Rajasthan do enjoy a certain influence, they have political value also.

19:14

City of Jodhpur

Corcoran: The Rajasthan High Court has now ordered police to renew their investigations. But it’s unlikely the case will ever be resolved – there’s simply too much power and prestige at stake.

19:22

Mira

Mira: A lot of very powerful people are involved in this, and this incident, when it comes out, which it will come out, will be a very embarrassing factor for the royal family of Jodhpur.

19:36

City of Jodhpur

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Corcoran: The royal reputation may now be tarnished, but it's likely the scandal will only add to the allure of Jodhpur for the legion of foreign tourists in search of the mysterious past.

20:00

However, for many Indians, there will be no romantic illusions about their cultural heritage; the case simply reinforcing a perception that former royalty remain a protected species. With the Rajput warrior kings replacing warhorses for polo ponies as they set off in pursuit of the tourist dollar.

20:15

Credits:

India - Maharaja Mystery

Reporter: Mark Corcoran

Camera: Brett Ramsay ACS

Editor: Garth Thomas

Producers: Ian Altschwager

Alison Rourke

20:41