Refrain from making baseless allegations on Naba Das murder: Odisha govt to Opposition

Priya Ranjan Swain Published On : Feb 23, 2023 at 11:27 PM

Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government in Odisha today urged Opposition BJP and Congress not to politicise the murder of Health Minister Naba Das at Brajarajnagar on January 29.

“We should refrain from making baseless allegations regarding the tragic murder of Health Minister Naba Das,” said Minister of State for Home Tusharkanti Behera in the Assembly while replying to a motion moved by the Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jaynarayan Mishra and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Narasingha Mishra in connection with the high profile murder.

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The LoP and the CLP leader had alleged a deep-rooted conspiracy behind the murder of Naba Das. They criticized the state government for the failure of the Odisha Police to find out the real motives behind the murder and identify the conspirators.

“The BJD government is committed to a free and impartial probe into the incident. The investigation is being done in a transparent manner,” Behera said.

The state government has urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to facilitate the bahavioural analysis of accused Gopal Das by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of USA, added the Minister.

“The state government had urged the Orissa High Court to nominate a working/retired judge to monitor the Crime Branch probe into the murder case through its letter number 76 C of January 30, 2023. Accepting the request, the HC nominated retired justice JP Das to monitor the investigation through its letter number 3/RG of February 1, 2023,” said the Minister.

The accused has confessed to the crime while recording his statement before the magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC. The polygraph and narco analysis tests of the accused have been conducted at an advanced laboratory at Gandhinagar in Gujarat, he added.

The Minister further claimed that experts from CFSL, New Delhi, have conducted Forensic Psychological Assessment and LVA tests on the accused.

“The Crime Branch is following the best scientific methods to investigate the case. Renowned experts from different fields are being roped in to assist the Crime Brach in the case. The state government is making all efforts to ensure justice in the case,” Behera said.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the Minister’s statement, the Opposition members staged a walkout from the House.