BHUBANESWAR: The Parala palace mystery is fast unravelling itself. Paralakhemundi Maharaja Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Deo’s daughter Kalyani Gajapati has told the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that her father was not kept under house arrest. Kalyani, who arrived at Paralakhemundi on Thursday, apparently rubbished the allegations that Maharaja was held captive in the palace by his former manager Ananga Manjari Patra. The scion of Parala royal family, according to Gajapati Police, had been provided security since January and Kalyani’s statement to the SIT has now made it clear that the charges levelled against Ananga Manjari and her siblings may be untrue and even orchestrated.
The former manager and her three siblings had reportedly committed suicide en masse days after allegations were levelled against them over confining the Parala Maharaja to the palace and misappropriating his property. With the investigation into the issue slowly bringing to the fore certain facts about the case, the SIT of Crime Branch is pinning its hopes on the Parala Maharaja himself. Gopinath Gajapati, who is under treatment at a private hospital in Chennai, is unable to speak because of his failing condition. “The Maharaja is the best person to throw light on the whole issue because his daughter, who has stayed outside for last several years, does not have much knowledge about the palace affairs. We are hopeful that he will recover soon enough to speak to us. We will send a team when the time comes,” Crime Branch sources said.
During the day, the SIT also verified land documents and bank accounts of the Maharaja and found no significant deposit or even transactions. A unit also opened the almirah of Ananga Manjari in the presence of a Magistrate to collect documents on which her handwriting is available. Similarly, her brother Santosh Patra’s shop ‘Boy London’ was also broken open for a similar purpose. Handwriting samples are being collected as part of the probe to match those with the suicide notes. Once the SIT validates that the suicide notes were written by the Patra siblings, it might summon the persons who were named by the former manager. Even the ‘close relative’ whose name was mentioned in Parala Maharaja’s letter to the Gajapati SP last year over threat to life may be asked to depose. Sources said the Crime Branch will seek legal opinions before summoning them.