2nd Death Anniv Of Naba Das: Family Still Working On The Letter For CBI Probe; Suresh Pujari Reacts

Bhubaneswar: On the second death anniversary of Naba Das, former Jharsuguda MLA Deepali Das on Wednesday reiterated that her family would soon write to Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, seeking a CBI probe into the alleged murder of her father while serving as the Health Minister in the previous BJD government.

“Discussions are on and we working on the letter. It is an emotional decision for us. We will submit the letter in one to two weeks,” she told reporters.

On January 29, 2023, Naba Das allegedly gunned down by an on-duty police officer Gopal Das near Gandhi Chhak at Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district.

Earlier this month, Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan advised the former MLA from Jharsuguda to make a request in writing to the state government for a CBI probe into the murder of her father, while responding to her belated demand for a CBI probe amid questions raised by the BJP on the silence of Naba Das’ family on his killing.

Revenue Minister and Brajarajnagar MLA Suresh Pujari said that there are a lot unanswered questions in the case. “The statement of the dismissed cop’s wife about him being mentally ill within hours of the murder appeared like pre-decided script to save him. Police were also not able to seize the bullet which hit him on the chest. It should have then hit the car in which he was travelling but no bullet marks were found on the vehicle. I observed that the then government used to order Crime Branch probe whenever it had save the accused,” he alleged.

Pujari further claimed that the investigation by the Crime Branch appeared directionless and doubts were raised about the motive behind the crime as evident from the chargesheet. “The case can be reopened by the order of court only if there are any new evidence in the case,” he added.

Senior BJP leader and Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra said he had demanded a CBI probe soon after the previous government decided to hand over the case to state police. “A lot of time has passed since and there have been allegations of evidence tampering too. I have been telling from day one that an IAS and IPS officer and two politicians are involved in the pre-planned murder of the former BJD minister,” he added.