Odisha Minister’s ‘Killer’ Caught On Camera Laughing Nonchalantly

Bhubaneswar: Dismissed ASI Gopal Das, the lone accused in Odisha Health Minister Naba Das’ murder case, was caught on camera laughing nonchalantly at Jharsuguda airport while being taken to Gandhinagar in Gujarat for narcoanalysis and polygraph tests.

This video of Gopal, who probe agency Crime Branch had earlier claimed was showing no signs of remorse or repentance, has gone viral on social media.

Before the departure, he was made to sit in the lobby of the airport where he unexpectedly started laughing after glancing through a newspaper lying on the table. It is being said that he was amused by news reports published on him.

Gopal had shown no aggression, change in behaviour or nervousness while managing to go close to the minister to shoot him on January 29 and looked pretty cool and composed during interrogation and walked confidently as policemen took him to the court.

On Wednesday, Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court in Brajrajnagar allowed the Crime Branch to take Gopal on a fresh five-day remand and also carry out the narco and polygraph tests. Following which, a team led by ADG, Crime Branch, Arun Bothra took a flight to Ahmedabad via Kolkata with Gopal to get the tests done at a reputed institute to extract information from him on whether he conspired and colluded with anyone or was he hired by someone to pull the trigger on the health minister, sources said.

The agency also wants to know the exact motive behind Naba’s assassination.

During custodial interrogation, Gopal reportedly told the investigators that he murdered Naba since he had become an evil for society. He believed that the minister indulged in corrupt and unethical practices and was not doing enough to check illegal activities in coal and transportation business.

Earlier, the Crime Branch had taken the assistance of Central Forensic Science Laboratory, New Delhi, to conduct a layered voice analysis (LVA) test of the accused. Experts from the National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS) also evaluated Gopal’s psychological conditions to ascertain whether he was mentally unwell or pretended to be so.