BERHAMPUR: The second phase of investigation into the suicide of four members of family of manager of Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Dev, scion of the erstwhile Paralakhemundi royal family is underway even as The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Crime Branch of Odisha police continued its probe on Monday. A four-member team of SIT reached Paralakhemundi for the probeiry. The SIT is expected to interrogate relatives of persons who had committed suicide, during the second phase. Apart from them, staff of the palace may also be quizzed, sources said. Sanjay was personal assistant of Mr Dev. Anangmanjari, Bijaylaxmi and Santosh had allegedly consumed poison while Sanjay was found hanging inside their locked house in Paralakhemundi. Santosh was recovered in serious condition and had died during treatment in MKCG medical college and hospital of Berhampur, the next day. But the viscera report of Santosh has confirmed that he had died due to overdose of psychotropic drugs. Before their mass suicide, there had been uproar in Paralakhemundi regarding allegation that Mr Dev had been kept under house arrest by Anangmanjari and her brothers and the manager was involved in clandestine sale of property of the erstwhile royal family. But family members of the deceased had denied these allegations. Amulya Patra, brother of deceased Anangmanjari, had filed a FIR in Paralakhemundi police station alleging that six persons and an Odia TV channel had created situation that led to this mass suicide. Congress MLA of Paralakhemundi, K.Surya Rao, Gajapati district BJP president, G. Ravanna, Paralakhemundi town Congress president Basant Panda, former district president of the BJD, Basant Das and one Sudhir Ranjan Mohapatra are the persons mentioned in this FIR. Mr Dev is now being treated in Chennai. Anangmanjari Patra, former manager of Mr Dev as well as her two brothers, Sanjay Patra, Santosh Patra and a sister Bijaylaxmi Patra are the four persons who died in this mass suicide attempt. Their bodies had been recovered from their house in Paralakhemundi, locked from inside on August 21. ]]>
