Court Extends Police Custody Of Accused In Odisha Minister's Murder Case

The court of JMFC, Jharsuguda on Saturday extended the police custody of Gopal Krishna Das, Ex-ASI of Police, accused in the murder of Odisha's Health Minister, Naba Kishore Das case, by four days.

The Forensic Psychological Assessment and LVA Test of accused Gopal Krishna is being conducted by the team of CFSL, New Delhi at Jharsuguda.

A special Medical Board has been constituted to study the mental health of the accused, an official said.

The documents recovered from the paternal house at Industrial Estate, Berhampur and Govt quarter at Jharsuguda are being scrutinized. The financial details of the accused, his wife, brother and other close relatives are also being collected by a team of CID CB, an official said.

The official added that the investigation of the case is in progress.

The special investigating team (SIT) probing minister Naba Das' murder on Thursday recovered handwritten notes of accused ASI Gopal Das from a septic tank of Jharsuguda Airport police station.

The CID and Crime Branch team in a statement said that the accused ASI during questioning revealed that he threw handwritten notes in a septic tank of the toilet of Jharsunguda Airport police station and that he had noted down his motives behind the crime in detail on the paper.

The recovered pieces of handwritten papers will be sent to forensics and handwriting experts for the reconstruction of evidence and further examination, the Crime Branch said.

The preserved viscera of the victim have also been sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL), Rasulgarh in Bermuda Biological Station for Research (BBSR) for chemical examination and opinion, it said.

A medical team led by DSP and CID Crime Branch at Berhampur is verifying the medical treatment records and financial behaviour of the accused.

The team is also interrogating those related to the accused to ascertain the plea advanced by him. In connection to this, the accused's elder brother was also interrogated, the crime branch said.

The Crime Branch further informed that the Additional DG of Police and CID Crime Odisha are camping at the spot. They are personally monitoring and supervising the investigation of the case.

The Scientific Officer and Ballistic Experts also recovered one fired bullet during the inspection of the vehicle and the crime spot using a FARO 3-D Scanner.

Naba Das had been the Health and Family Welfare Minister of Odisha since 2019. He was a three-time MLA from the Jharsuguda constituency and was said to be an influential leader in the area.

Naba Das was shot at in Brajarajnagar in the Jharsuguda district and succumbed to his bullet injuries in Bhubaneswar hospital on Sunday.

During the operation, it was found that a single bullet had entered and exited the body, injuring the heart and left lung and causing massive internal bleeding and injury.

The Odisha government has written to the Odisha High Court requesting for a sitting/retired HC judge or district judge to monitor the Crime Branch probe into the murder of Health Minister Naba Kishore Das, as the accused is a police personnel.

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