Letter threatening to kill Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik sent to his residence

An anonymous letter threatening to kill Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik was sent to his residence Naveen Niwas on Thursday in Bhubaneswar, throwing security agencies in the state in a tizzy.

The letter, a copy of which is available with HT, said contract killers armed with AK-47 and semi-automatic pistols are out to kill the CM.

“These contract killers are professional criminals and can attack you any time. So please be aware that these contract killers are continuously following you. The mastermind lives in Nagpur... The weapons which will be used to kill you have been brought to Odisha,” read the handwritten letter in English.

The sender also gave out a list of 17 cars with registration numbers of Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Punjab, Odisha, Delhi, Haryana and Maharashtra in which the ‘criminals’ are following Patnaik.

The home department sent the letter to the DGP as well as the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner for further action. The chief minister enjoys Z plus security.

Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner Sudhansu Sarangi denied seeing such a letter. “Sometimes mad people write such things. I am not aware of such a letter,” he said.

In September 2018, a murder accused serving sentence in Bilaspur Central Jail in Chhattisgarh had sent a letter to Patnaik demanding extortion money of ₹50 crore and threatened him with dire consequences if he failed to pay the amount.