Kolkata: Nearly two weeks after Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das was shot dead by a policeman in broad daylight, the state Crime Branch is yet to figure out the motive behind the killing.
According to Odisha Director General of Police (DGP) Sunil Bansal, investigators were looking at circumstances surrounding the killing with an “open mind”.
“The motive behind the crime has not been established. It would be inconclusive to say as to which direction the investigation would proceed. Principles of a good probe is that all options are open. We will not close our minds; we will take the investigation to its logical conclusion,” he had told mediapersons last Friday.
Das, a cabinet minister in the Naveen Patnaik government, was attending a scheduled public programme in his constituency, Jharsuguda, on 29 January when Assistant Sub-Inspector Gopal Das shot at him twice with his service revolver. The minister died in a hospital in Bhubaneswar the same day.
The ASI was arrested immediately and suspended from service 24 hours later. His police custody was extended for the third time Wednesday, and he will remain in their custody till 13 February.
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Accused to undergo narco analysis test
Gopal Das was flown to Gandhinagar, Gujarat, via Kolkata Wednesday night, accompanied by ADGP, Crime Branch, Arun Bothra to undergo narco analysis and polygraph tests. The Jharsuguda magistrate court on 8 February extended Das’s police custody and granted permission for conducting the tests.
“We have got consent from both the court and the accused. If we conduct the tests at a reputable institute outside the state, it will add more value to the investigation and ensure transparency,” a crime branch officer told ThePrint.
The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) has also performed an evaluation of Gopal Das. Earlier, the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, New Delhi, conducted a layered voice analysis test on the accused.
Talking to ThePrint, Calcutta high court advocate Priyanka Tebriwal said it isn’t unusual for the prosecution to seek narco analysis tests. “When there is circumstantial evidence, the prosecution can seek a narco analysis test to further extract information from the accused, which will then be permissible in the court of law,” she added.
The probe so far
During interrogation, the accused reportedly confessed to having thrown a letter into a toilet at the airport police station in Jharsuguda, where he was taken after his arrest.
Officials told the media in Jharsuguda, “Gopal Das had noted down in detail the motive behind killing the minister.” Crime branch officers had on 1 February fished out 22 pieces of paper from the septic tank of the police station, according to a press release by the CID.
“The recovered 22 pieces of paper chits have been sent to the handwriting bureau for examination and opinion,” the release said. Apart from forensic examination of the bullets recovered from the spot, the crime branch has also recovered documents from the accused ASI’s paternal home in Berhampur and government quarters in Jharsuguda, which are being scrutinised.
“The financial details of the accused, his wife, brother and other close relatives are also being collected by the team,” an investigating officer told ThePrint.
Last week, investigators along with DGP Bansal recreated the crime scene in Jharsuguda where the accused cop was given a toy gun to show how he shot the minister from point blank range near his official vehicle amidst the latter’s supporters and bodyguard.
(Edited by Geethalakshmi Ramanathan)
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