Paralakhemundi, Aug. 21: Three deaths and a suicide bid have thrown the town's historical Gajapati Palace and head of the royal family Gopinath Gajapati in the midst of a raging controversy.
The palace, once the nerve centre of the freedom movement, is being linked to the deaths of siblings Ananga Manjari Patra, Sanjaya Patra and Bijayalaxmi Patra.
The fourth sibling Santosh is undergoing treatment at a hospital.
The 73-year-old Gajapati, a descendant of the late Maharaja Krishna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deo, considered an architect of modern Odisha and the first premier of the state, was shifted to a private hospital in Chennai after he fell ill following the alleged confinement by his manager Ananga, whose rise to her position of influence in the Gajapati Palace is no less a story to tell.
Ananga, 54, who hails from Jangam Sahi in Paralakhemundi town, was employed with Parry's chocolate factory in Gajapati district in 1984. Four years later, she became president of the Mahila Congress in Ganjam and Gajapati districts. She held on to the posts till 1995 and it was during this period that Ananga became close to the royal scion, who was the Congress MP Berhampur from 1989-1996.
Ananga's closeness to the Gajapati became evident she was made the MP's personal assistant. This helped Ananga consolidate her position and influence in the palace. When she took over as Gajapati's manager, it did not come as a surprise to those who knew about palace intricacies. However insiders said, with time their relationship had become strained and the Gajapati's confinement in the palace was the last straw. After he was taken to Chennai for treatment, the Gajapati sacked his manager and personal assistant Sanjaya from the hospital bed.
Last week, when the palace intrigue became public, people loyal to the Gajapati took to the streets. Politicians also joined in with local MLA and Congress leader K. Surya Rao and his supporters demanding the arrest and dismissal of Ananga and Sanjaya.
"Gopinath Gajapati was seriously ill and was kept in solitary confinement inside the palace by Ananga Manjari," said Rao.
Over the years, Gajapati had switched his political affiliation. From being a two-term Congress MP to joining the BJP, the Gajapati had come a long way. Therefore it was no surprise when the state government decided to pick up the hospital bills and health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak called on the Gajapati in Chennai, as by then he had moved on to the BJD. Though he had joined the state's ruling party, the Gajapati had lost much of his political clout because of failing health.
In his decline of influence, Ananga and Sanjaya saw an opportunity. Things, however, has taken an unexpected turn with the alleged confinement of the Gajapati and the subsequent deaths of the Patra siblings. But the deaths have only further deepened the mystery surrounding the palace.
The family
Gopinath Gajapati became the "king" on May 26, 1974. He was the son of Ramchandra Gajapati Narayan Deo, the eldest son of Krushna Chandra Gajapati, who had led the movement for Odisha's separate statehood and had also contributed to the freedom struggle.
Married to Rani Purna Devi, the princess of Dharampur on March 14, 1967, Gopinath Gajapati's son Digvijay had committed suicide last year. His daughter Kalyani is single and lives in Chennai. Kalyani is taking care of her ailing father at a Chennai hospital.
Kalyani has urged chief minister Naveen Patnaik to inquire into all the transactions of royal properties over the past 35 years. She has levelled allegations of mismanagement of royal property by Ananga and her brothers.
Of Gajapati's younger brothers - Rajkumar Udaybhanu Dev and Sarbajgan Jagannath Narayana Dev - only the latter survives. However, the brothers are locked in a legal dispute over Rs 500 crore worth of royal property, including the palace and land besides the unit that manufactured Parry's chocolates.
