Odisha Govt Ready For FBI But Not CBI, BJP Leaders Take A Swipe At CM’s Statement In Assembly

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s statement in the Assembly further fuelled the ongoing political slugfest over health minister Naba Kishore Das’ murder case as the BJP on Wednesday took a swipe at the government’s assertion over seeking Federal Bureau of Investigation’s help for behavioural analysis of the accused, Gopal Das.

“It is evident that the Crime Branch probe has completely gone off track. It is unfortunate that instead of reposing faith in CBI, they are now seeking the help of the FBI,” said senior BJP leader Suresh Pujari.

The Bargarh MLA said that he failed to understand the reluctance on the part of the BJD-led government to hand over the case to CBI when it had already taken the help of central agencies for all tests, including polygraph, narcoanalysis, forensic psychological assessment and layered voice analysis (LVA) test of the accused.

On CM blaming the opposition for politicising the issue, Pujari said that BJP wants the actual killer to be traced. “Even after three weeks, the Crime Branch is yet to ascertain the motive and intention behind the murder,” he added.

Taking a jibe at Naveen and his long silence over the issue, his party colleague and Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra said that it took him 24 days to wake up from his slumber. “He may not be even aware of the development in the case and just read out the statement from a paper handed over to him,” he said.

Mishra said that there was nothing new in the statement as the probe continues to revolve around Gopal Das and the Crime Branch is yet to ascertain the motive and identify the people behind him. “The government is scared to hand over the case to CBI despite conducting all tests through central agencies,” he said.

The Sambalpur MLA alleged that the CM was lying to the people about Orissa High Court appointing the retired judge to monitor the investigation and hoodwinking them into believing that it will ensure transparency. “There is no judicial order stating that a retired judge (Justice J P Das) would supervise the investigation and no conditions have been fixed for the same,” he said.

Responding to the BJD’s tirade against him, he said that he would file a defamation suit against Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Pramila Mallik for dragging his name and that of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan into the case. “She is. minister and any statement she makes would be considered as that of the government. It can also influence the ongoing probe,” he added.

He also objected to being addressed as a criminal by the ruling party leaders. “There has been no conviction and the police are yet to file any chargesheet against me,” he said.

“In the BJD, 111 legislators are facing criminal charges with 6 booked for murder and 4 for kidnapping, the party, therefore, should think twice before making such statements,” he added.