Naba Das Murder Accused Gopal Sent To Jail In Odisha After Return From Gujarat

Jharsuguda: After being brought back to Odisha following polygraph and narco-analysis tests at Gandhinagar, Gopal Das, lone accused in Minister Naba Kishore Das murder case, was sent to jail in Jharsuguda on Monday.

Sources said the dismissed policeman was produced before the JMFC court at Jharsuguda by the Crime Branch of Odisha police and then sent to the sub-jail on completion of his third phase remand for 5 days.

The Crime Branch had taken the former assistant sub-inspector (ASI) on remand for his polygraph and narco-analysis tests in at Gandhinagar in Gujarat. After completion of the remand period, he was produced before the court.

The statement of the dismissed police official was also recorded in the court under Section 164 of CrPC, while the Crime Branch did not seek further remand of the accused. The investigating agency had earlier taken Gopal on remand twice.

The ex-ASI was brought back to Jharsuguda on Sunday night by a team of the Crime Branch. The team along with Gopal reached Raipur by flight and then returned to Jharsuguda by road amid tight security, sources said.

However, the findings of the tests were yet to be revealed and the motive behind the murder is still unclear. In order to ascertain the motive, the Crime Branch conducted the tests at the Directorate of Forensic Science in Gandhinagar after getting permission for the same from the court.

The Crime Branch is yet to share information on the reports of LVA and psychoanalysis tests conducted at Jharsuguda earlier.

It may be noted that Naba Das was allegedly shot at from very close range by Gopal near Gandhi Chowk at Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district on January 29. The Minister succumbed to bullet injuries at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar the same evening.