Jharsuguda: The JMFC court here on Saturday allowed Crime Branch (CB) to take Gopal Das, the lone accused in Odisha Health Minister Naba Das’ assassination case, on remand for another four days.
He was produced in the court as the initial remand of 4-day had ended.
Meanwhile, the CB team, which is camping in Berhampur, has interrogated Gopal’s wife more than five times. The dismissed ASI’s elder brother Satya Das, nephew, relatives, friends, fellow villagers and the doctor, who treated him for psychological problems, have also been questioned.
According to a statement issued by the probing agency, the assistance of handwriting experts is being taken to re-arrange the 22 pieces of torn papers recovered from the septic tank of the Airport police station at Jharsuguda, where Gopal was detained. The accused has admitted the handwriting on the papers was his own. some handwritten and printed documents and diaries were seized during searches in the locked official quarter and office desk of the accused at Gandhi Chhak police outpost, it added.
The motive behind the crime is not established yet. Gopal, however, reportedly has stuck to the position that he was alone in his plan to eliminate Naba because of his personal hatred.
The minister was shot at by Gopal in full public glare at Brajrajnagar in Jharsuguda district on January 29 and he succumbed to the bullet injury at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar later that evening.
Apprehending that he may be lynched or shot, Gopal had allegedly written a confession, which he carried with him. The statement was written in red ink and it was a mix of English and Odia.
The DGP, Sunil Bansal, on Friday said that the case is being probed with an open mind. “The CB probe is moving on the right track. The investigators are working on some leads,” he added.
