Cuttack: A petition has been filed in Orissa High Court seeking security for Gopal Das, the only accused in murder of minister Naba Kishore Das, inside the jail.
The petitioner, advocate Sumant Kumar Swain, has sought the intervention of the High Court in ensuring protection of Gopal who is now lodged in Choudwar Jail in Cuttack district. He has made the appeal in light of the death of prime accused in teacher Mamita Meher murder case, Gobind Sahu in Kantabanji jail in Balangir district.
Stating that Gopal should not face same fate as Gobind, the petitioner said he should be accommodated in a cell under 24×7 surveillance of CCTV cameras inside the jail. The advocate also sought security for the family members of the accused for fair investigation into the case.
Sahu was found hanging inside the jail premises ahead of his scheduled production in a local court in December last year. Jail authorities rushed him to hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Chief secretary, Home secretary, DGP, DG (Prisons) and superintendent of Choudwar jail have been made respondents in the petition.
It may be noted that Gopal, who was an ASI, had fired at minister Das while the latter was going to attend a public function at Brajrajnagar in Jharsuguda district on January 29. Das was airlifted to a private hospital in Bhubaneswar. But he succumbed while undergoing treatment the same day.
