Bhubaneswar: Even as the Crime Branch is yet to ascertain the exact reason behind Naba Das murder, it has reportedly gathered some new facts about the activities of Gopal Das, lone accused in the sensational case, a day before the killing.
Sources said the dismissed assistant sub-inspector (ASI) had sold a gold ring for Rs 8,500 on January 28 for the return journey of his elder brother, Satyanarayan Das, to Berhampur.
After selling the gold ring, Gopal gave Rs 6,000 to his brother who had run out of money, and purchased a silver ring for Rs 500 for himself, they said.
Thereafter, the former policeman dropped his brother at the railway station on January 29 morning and took rest for around 30 minutes before proceeding to the police outpost. Around an hour before he allegedly fired at Minister Naba Das, the accused loaded his service pistol, soruces said.
The sequence of events, particularly the way Gopal sold his ring to arrange his brother’s return journey, will be of immense help to provide clinching evidence to show the “legal sanity” of the accused, reportedly suffering from bipolar disorder.
While Gopal’s history of mental illness may be used in the court tp claim that he cannot be responsible for a crime during a psychotic attack, sources said the clinical precision with which the accused cop executed the crime shows he was “legally sane.”
It may be recalled that the ex-ASI had asked his elder brother who manned their eatry near the police outpost at Gandhi Chowk in Brajarajnagar and their staff to leave for their native place in Ganjam for some days before the murder.
