Berhampur, Aug. 14: People of Paralakhemundi hit the streets and gheraoed the Gajapati Palace today following news that the royal scion and former Lok Sabha member Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Dev had been confined by his manager.

The administration, however, denied the allegation and said all was well with Dev.

"Seventy-four-year-old Gopinath Gajapati has been unwell for the past year and he has not been seen outside his palace for quite some time. His manager Ananga Manjari Patra, 54, and her younger brother Sanjay Patra are not letting visitors inside the palace. It is a virtual house arrest of the Gajapati in his own house," said MLA Paralakhemundi and Congress leader Surya Rao.

He said a 15-member citizens' committee consisting of political leaders, intellectuals, advocates and others have lodged an FIR with the Paralakhemundi police station against Ananga and Sanjaya.

"We have requested the police to provide security to the Gajapati. His manager and brother are trying to swindle his property," Rao said.

A three-member medical team led by the chief district medical officer examined the Gajapati following demands from the committee.

"He is seriously ill and needs treatment in a hospital that has an intensive care unit. He has had heart surgery and a pacemaker implant. He is suffering from diabetics and high blood pressure. He fractured his leg three months ago after he fell down because of hyperglycaemia. He had a brain stroke and has throat infection," the medical officer said.

Gajapati stays in the palace at Paralakhemundi alone after the death of his wife Purnadevi in Chennai 10 years ago. His son committed suicide last year in Chennai.

The district administration, in consultation with the committee, plans to shift the Gajapati to a hospital. The committee has demanded a probe into the transactions made by Gajapati with the help of Ananga.

The historical Gajapati Palace was the centre of the movement for creating of a separate province for the Odias. The grandfather of Gopinath, Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati, had spearheaded the language agitation. He was the first prime minister of Odisha state in 1936 and is considered the architect of modern Odisha.