‘Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik May Be Happy Over Naba Das Murder Case Chargesheet, I am Not’: Cong Leader

By OB Bureau On May 28, 2023

Bhubaneswar: Taking a dig at the BJD government in Odisha over investigation into the sensational murder of Health Minister Naba Kishore Das, senior Congress leader Tara Prasad Bahinipati on Sunday said the chargesheet filed by the Crime Branch in the case is ‘unacceptable.’

Terming the probe conducted by Crime Branch as ‘shoddy,’ the Congress MLA said, “Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik may be happy over the chargesheet, but I am not.”

Stating that the the chargesheet filed by the Crime Branch on Friday is unacceptable, Bahinipati said there is no mention about conspiracy behind the high-profile daylight murder in this document filed by the investigating agency.

If the murder was committed by dismissed policeman Gopal Das due to personal reasons, the probe agency should have mentioned about the reason behind the personal grudge of the accused against Naba Das, he said.

There is no mention about the reason that built up anger in Gopal Das and prompted him to kill the Minister, the Congress leader said, adding that Naba Das was a prominent leader, a Minister and not a criminal that someone would kill him out of anger. There is no mention about what had happened between Naba Das and Gopal Das that promoted the dismissed policeman to kill the minister, he said.

Stating that it was a planned murder, he claimed there was a deep-rooted conspiracy behind the killing with involvement of high-profile people, but nothing is mentioned in the chargesheet.

Therefore, Congress has been demanding a thorough probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a sitting High Court Judge to unravel the truth, the senior Congress leader said.

Notably, nearly four months after the sensational murder of Naba Das, the Crime Branch on Friday submitted the 543-page preliminary chargesheet in the case in Jharsuguda JMFC Court. Charges have been framed against Gopal Das, under Sections 307, 302 and 27 (1) of the Arms Act and the murder attributed to past enmity. It is based on the statements of eyewitnesses and reports of scientific team against the dismissed ASI, who pulled the trigger on Naba Das while he was on his way to attend an official programme on January 29.