Odisha Police submits charge sheet in ex minister’s murder, finds ASI responsible

Bhubaneswar, May 26 (PTI) The former Odisha health minister Naba Kishore Das was gunned down by assistant sub-inspector of police Gopal Das due to personal grudge and anguish in stable mind, according to the police charge sheet in the case submitted on Friday.

Gopal Das is the lone accused in the January 29 incident and the murder was a result of past enmity. Charges have been framed under sections 307 (attempt to commit murder), 302 (murder) and the Arms Act, it said.

If proved in court the ASI may face prison term ranging from ten years to life behind bars and is liable to be fined.

The 543-page charge sheet in the case was filed by Odisha Police crime branch at the Jharsuguda judicial magistrate first class court on Friday. The charge against Gopal Das is based on statements by eyewitnesses and reports of a scientific team.

The case was handed over to the crime branch to investigate the motive behind the murder.
The court turned down its request to take him to National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bengaluru for evaluation.

It referred to the report by the medical board comprising experts from the state-run SCB Medical College and Hospital which suggested that Gopal Das was mentally sound.
The ASI had allegedly opened fire at the ex-minister at Brajrajnagar Gandhi Chowk when he was on an official visit in Jharsuguda district.

The charge sheet said the accused meticulously planned and executed the murder alone. There was no conspiracy or support from anyone else.

The narco test and layered voice analysis confirmed that the police officer had pulled the gun due to personal grudge, it said.

“After evaluation of all evidences – oral, documentary, medico-legal, cyber forensic and ballastic opinion, it is clear that the accused Gopal Das had developed personal grudge and anguish against deceased minister Naba Kishore Das. He felt threatened by the minister and his supporters and feared for his life. Gradually, he made up his mind to commit murder,” the charsheet said.

The police officer’s mental condition was “quite normal” and there was no abnormality at the time. He was cooperative during the investigation and replied to all questions asked in a cogent manner, it said.

His wife Jayanti, however, told journalists that he was under treatment for “psychological issues” for the last seven to eight years.

The ASI was deployed for traffic clearance duty for the minister’s programme in Jharsuguda district and fired on him from very close range using his service pistol. The police arrested him immediately after he opened fire at the ex-minister and was dismissed from service.

The minister was airlifted to Bhubaneswar and died in a hospital as one of the bullets fired had entered and exited his body. His heart and left lung were impacted and caused massive internal bleeding.

During his service period Gopal Das had received 18 citations and nine rewards for exemplary performance as a cop. The accused was posted in Jharasuguda district in 2013 and his family lived in the outskirts of Berhampur.