Two Quizzed As Odisha Police Conduct Fresh Probe Into Death Of Naba Das’ Cook

Jharsuguda: Police have questioned a serving and a former household employee of the slain BJD leader Naba Das in connection with the suspicious death of the former minister’s cook.

Hema Sagar Nayak, a household employee of the former Health Minister, was quizzed by police on Sunday. A former employee, Munu Prasad, was also questioned for over 2 hours in connection with the death of the cook, Lalit Sahu (22), at Jharsuguda on April 17, 2022.

“I joined as an employee at the residence of the former minister at Jharsuguda just two days before the death of the cook. I did not even know his name. The cook was found hanging from the ceiling fan at the staff quarters. I was the one who brought the body down in the presence of his family members and police and unbuttoned his shirt,” Munu, who had joined as the caretaker of his dog, told the channel.

He worked for around one and a half months at Das’ house.

The case, initially ruled as a suicide, is being reinvestigated after Lalit’s father, Belalsen Sahu, wrote to Odisha police last month, demanding a fresh inquiry into his son’s death to uncover the actual cause.

It was alleged that Lalit’s postmortem was carried out hurriedly in the same evening and his body was taken to his hometown in Dhenkanal district within a few hours. The case became murkier when the deceased’s viscera samples were allegedly stolen from the postmortem room in December that year. Jharsuguda Town police registered another case in this regard on January 5, 2023. However, so far, there has been no headway in both the cases.

Initially, the case was investigated by a sub-inspector under the supervision of a DSP. However, Northern Range IG, Himanshu Kumar Lal later directed police to reinvestigate the mysterious death of a 22-year-old youth by changing the enquiry officer and supervisory officer.