Odisha SIT begins probe into suicides of royal aides, kin

BHUBANESWAR: A gruesome palace intrigue is playing out in Odisha, where four siblings linked to the erstwhile royalty of Paralakhemundi, headquarters of Gajapati district, committed suicide on Sunday after public uproar and intense media scrutiny over their role in managing the affairs of the former king.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had on Monday ordered a probe by the state crime branch into the mysterious suicides. Even as a special investigation team (SIT) of the crime branch arrived in Paralakhemundi on Tuesday to start the investigation, family members of the deceased lodged a police complaint against 11 people, including the local MLA and also an Odiya TV news channel, for pushing the four brothers and sisters to suicide. Ananga Manjari Patra, the manager of the ailing royalty and former MP Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Deb, was found dead in her house on Sunday along with younger sister Bijayalaxmi Patra and a brother Sanjay Patra. Another brother, Tulu Patra, was found in a critical condition and admitted to hospital but died a day later.

Aged between 35 and 55 and all unmarried, Ananga Manjari and her siblings were accused of confining the ailing royal and usurping his properties.

The police claim that initial reports indicate Ananga Manjari, Bijaylaxmi and Tulu had ingested poison, while Sanjay, also the personal assistant of the royal, had hanged himself.

The suicides rocked the state five days after the 74-year-old Gopinath Gajapati was admitted to a hospital in Chennai following allegations that the manager had confined him in the palace and mismanaged his properties.

Police say three suicide notes and a diary were recovered from the house. In her note, the manager said she was always loyal to Gajapati and never harmed his interests, but had to take the extreme step after the smear campaign against her family.

“My sister and brothers have taken the extreme step after Paralakhemundi (Congress) MLA K Surya Rao and former district BJD president Basanta Das ran a smear campaign against them with the help of some unscrupulous elements. The news channel sensationalised it without verifying facts,” said Purnima Patra, another sibling who is alive.

A member of the SIT probe team said, “The suicide notes and diary have been sent for forensic tests. We will be questioning all persons, including the family members of the deceased as well as Gopinath Gajapati.”

The chain of events started last week when fingers were pointed at Ananga Manjari for allegedly isolating the ailing royal in his palace for the last two years. It was alleged that she did not allow even Gajapati’s relatives to meet him.

The precarious health of Gopinath Gajapati, who represented the Berhampur Lok Sabha seat twice from 1989 to 1996, became a subject oof public discourse. Soon, thousands of locals hit the streets in protest against the mistreatment of the former king.

Political parties such as BJD, BJP and Congress also came together to seek action against the manager and her brother Sanjay, who allegedly controlled the royal properties worth over `500 crore.