Jharsuguda: Crime Branch of Odisha Friday submitted a preliminary chargesheet in former Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das murder case, said a source.
The Crime Branch submitted the 543-page chargesheet in the JMFC court, Jharsuguda against the accused – dismissed ASI Gopal Das, added the source.
The chargesheet reportedly mentioned that the ASI killed the minister over past enmity. According to the chargesheet, the accused has been charged under Sections 307, 302 and 27 (1) of the Arms Act.
In a press statement, the Crime Branch said it has filed the chargesheet against accused Gopal Krishna Das (53) for murdering the then health minister January 29 and attempting to kill others, including inspector in-charge of Brajrajnagar police station, PK Swain and another Jeevan Kumar Nayak.
The Crime Branch said that the accused Gopal Krishan Das (then police ASI) committed the crime in his senses and in a pre-planned manner. His mental condition was found stable and normal, it said.
“After evaluation of all the evidence — oral, documentary, medico-legal, cyber forensic and ballistic opinion — it became clear that accused Das had developed personal grudge against minister Das. He felt threatened by Das and his supporters and feared for his life. Gradually, he made up his mind to commit the murder. For this, he meticulously planned and then executed the crime,” the Crime Branch noted in the statement.
Though the chargesheet was filed, the investigation is kept open in respect of obtaining a few reports and clarification and for complying with some formalities, the agency added.
As the matter involved an attack on the life of a serving minister, the Crime Branch took charge of the investigation of Brajarajnagar Police Station on the very day of the incident (January 29).
The Crime Branch had formed 10 investigating teams and deputed them to Jharsuguda, Bhubaneswar, Berhampur and other places outside the state to probe into different possible angles of the case.
The teams examined 89 witnesses and seized several exhibits, including firearms, live cartridges, empty cartridges and handwash of the accused among others.
During the investigation, some family members of the accused claimed that Gopal Das was suffering from bipolar disorder long back. To verify the authenticity of the claim, a special medical board was constituted by the director of medical education and training, who conducted their examination and opined that they had not found active psychopathology in Das.
Further, from locals and colleagues, it was also ascertained that his mental condition was quite normal and there was no abnormality. Moreover, he was cooperative in the investigation and replying to all the questions asked in a cogent manner, the Crime Branch officials said.
Notably, the former minister was shot at by an assistant sub-inspector Das at Gandhi Square in Jharsuguda district January 29 earlier this year when he was on his way to attend a meeting. Videos of the incident was widely circulated on social media. The wounded minister was airlifted to a Bhubaneswar-based hospital in critical condition, where he breathed his last.
PNN & Agencies