Jharsuguda: Mystery continues to shroud the murder case of former state health minister Naba Kishore Das as Crime Branch sleuths produced the sacked police SI Gopal Das in the JMFC court at Jharsuguda, Thursday. Gopal Das is the prime accused in the case. Police brought Das to Jharsuguda from Choudwar Circle Jail in Cuttack under tight security, Wednesday and produced him in the court, Thursday. The JMFC court heard the matter for 10 minutes and transferred the case to District & Sessions Judge Court, Jharsuguda. It was learned that the state Crime Branch will soon file the charge frame in the case before the District Judge, Jharsuguda.
On the other hand, the accused Gopal agreed to contest the case in the coming days before the judge. The defendant’s lawyer Dayanidhi Chand said that the sacked SI Gopal was produced in the JMFC court where he expressed his interest to fight the case in the coming days before the magistrate, Thursday. The JMFC court has transferred the matter to the court of district judge and a copy of the chargesheet has been given to the accused SI. The hearing in the case will start after the charge frame in the case. Meanwhile, 166 days have passed since the incident but the Crime Branch is yet to unravel the mystery behind the murder. The chargesheet mentions that the accused SI murdered Naba Das for personal reasons but the Crime Branch has failed to clarify why a police SI thought of killing a person who was then the state’s health minister. The Crime Branch submitted the 534-page preliminary chargesheet at Jharsuguda JMFC Court in the Naba Das murder case, May 26. The agency had prepared the chargesheet on the basis of the statements recorded by 89 witnesses including IO Ramesh Dora, DSP of the Crime Branch, and reports of the scientific team.
Notably, Naba Kishore Das was gunned down by the accused at Gandhi Chhak in Brajarajnagar of Jharsuguda district when he had been to the area in connection with a programme, January 29 this year. After his arrest, Gopal was first kept in Jharsuguda Jail but was later shifted to Choudwar Jail in Cuttack district.
