The channel also claimed that the chief minister would be reaching Hyderabad in an army helicopter any moment.

However, minutes later Finance Minister K.Rosaiah told reporters at the secretariat that the chief minister remained untraced.

He only hoped that the chopper had landed in some forest area and appealed to people to help trace it.

'We are worried after what Rosaiah said. We were earlier happy that the chief minister is safe. We are now praying to god,' said Sudhakar Reddy, a Youth Congress leader.

Another Congress supporter said: 'I am confident that he is safe. He is people's man. He did a lot for the welfare of people. Nothing will happen to him.'

At Gandhi Bhavan, the headquarters of the ruling Congress, a large number of women workers were seen praying for the safety of their leader.

Hundreds of others gathered outside the chief minister's camp office in Begumpet bringing the traffic to a halt in the busy area.