India, May 24 -- Alleging that chief minister Naveen Patnaik has been held "hostage" by his deputy VK Pandian, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Odisha on Friday appealed to the director general of police (DGP) to "free Patnaik from the clutches of Pandian".

In a letter to Odisha DGP Arun Kumar Sarangi, former president of the party's state unit, Sameer Mohanty, alleged that Patnaik has been held hostage by Pandian for the last few days.

"You must be aware of a sensitive issue in Odisha. The Chief Minister of our state Naveen Patnaik has been held hostage by his former personal secretary VK Pandian for some days...It is evident from the videos posted on various social media platforms of the Chief Minister's own party BJD [Biju Janata ...