Minister Naba Das murder: Crime Branch to take accused Gopal Das on 4-day remand

Jharsuguda: The Court of JMFC, Brajarajnagar has allowed the Odisha Crime Branch to take minister Naba Das murder case accused Gopal Das on a 4-day remand for further questioning.

During the remand period, the agency is likely to quiz the accused, a former ASI of police, regarding the motive behind his extreme act.

He was earlier produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody. He has already been dismissed from police service.

Crime Branch ADG Arun Bothra had earlier said that accused Gopal Das confessed to the crime during questioning.

Gopal Das had fired at the minister with a clear intention to kill, revealed a complaint lodged by Brajarajnagar police station IIC Pradyumna Kumar Swain.

The accused was deployed for traffic clearance duty of the minister’s programme. He approached the minister and opened fire from his service pistol from a very close range aiming at Naba Das with a clear intention of killing, the IIC mentioned in the complaint.

Notably, the minister was allegedly shot in chest by Gopal Das at Gandhi Chhak in Brajrajnagar area of Jharsuguda district on January 29. The firing took place when the minister alighted from a car to attend an inauguration programme and his supporters were garlanding him.

He was rescued in a critical condition and rushed to the Jharsuguda District Headquarters Hospital for treatment. As his condition deteriorated, the minister was then airlifted to Bhubaneswar, where he was admitted to Apollo Hospital.

However, he succumbed to bullet injuries while undergoing treatment at the private hospital.