Berhampur, Aug. 21: Police today recovered the bodies of controversial former manager of the Gajapati Palace Ananga Manjari Patra, her sister Bijayalaxmi Patra and brother Sanjaya Patra, from their Jangam Sahi residence at Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district.
Sanjaya worked as personal assistant to the royal scion of Paralakhemundi and former Congress MP Gopinath Gajapati.
The police also found Santosh Patra, brother of Ananga, 54, in a critical condition. He has been admitted to MKCG Hospital.
Ananga was facing allegations of trying to misappropriate the Gajapati's royal properties.
The cops suspect that the siblings committed suicide. Two relatives of the Patras accused local politicians and a TV channel of tarnishing Ananga's image, which "drove them to lose their mental balance and commit suicide".
When the police broke in at 2pm, they found the body of Sanjaya hanging from the ceiling of a room in the house. Ananga's body was found on the bed. The body of Bijayalaxmi, 40, was recovered from the adjoining bedroom. Santosh was recovered from the kitchen. Bijayalaxmi and Santosh had nothing to do with the palace and had simply been staying with their siblings in their ancestral home.
Neighbours, who did not wish to be named, said Ananga returned to the house on the night of August 14. After that, she was not seen stepping outside. The house, they said, had been locked from the inside since then. Sanjaya and Santosh had returned to the house from Chennai on the night of August 18, which was Rakhi Purnima.
Although post-mortem reports are awaited, the police suspect suicide. Director general of police K.B. Singh said that on the face of it appeared to be a case of suicide. "The Paralakhemundi citizens' committee and the daughter of the former ruler had alleged that royal properties had been disposed of illegally. An inquiry into the matter is on," said Singh.
Inspector general of police, southern range, Amitav Thakur said: "It appears to be a case of suicide. A clear picture will emerge only after the autopsy reports are available. We will record the statement of Santosh, who is now under treatment at MKCG hospital."
Police chief of Gajapati Sushil Panigrahi said Ananga's house had been locked from inside for the past three days. The police broke open the door after neighbours complained about a foul odour emanating from the house.
Panigrahi said an inquiry into allegations against Ananga had been on following a complaint by several persons, including local MLA K. Surya Rao.
The mysterious deaths that have rocked the sleepy town in the wake of a public outcry against the unmarried Ananga and Sanjay for allegedly keeping the two-time MP from Berhampur under house arrest. Local residents had gheraoed the Gajapati Palace on August 14 accusing Ananga and Sanjaya of conspiring to grab the properties of the former ruler. Following the intervention of the district administration, Gajapati was shifted to Chennai for treatment.
Purnima Patra, Ananga's sister and a steno to the sub-collector of Paralakhemundi, said that her deceased siblings might have lost their mental balance and committed suicide. "We are six sisters and four brothers. I am married and have been staying with my in-laws since 2009. The four were staying in our Jangam Sahi residence."
Amulya Patra, another brother of Ananga, refuted the allegations against his siblings that they had conspired to grab the Gajapati's properties. "There was a dispute among the family members of the Gajapati and local leaders had launched a campaign against my sister at the behest of others. I will lodge a police complaint against those who made attempts to tarnish their image," he said.
