CB begins fresh probe into Naba murder case

 Bhubaneswar: The Crime Branch of Odisha Police on Tuesday began a fresh investigation into the killing of former minister Naba Kishore Das, said Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan in the Assembly. While replying to a debate in the Assembly, Harichandan said a two-member team of the CB has already reached the residence of Das at Jharsuguda and is recording the statements of his family members.

“The Crime Branch will probe into different angles of the murder case, the investigation of which was misled during the previous BJD government. The government decided to reopen the case and engage CB to make a fresh probe. The CBI could have done the investigation, but we considered that the Crime Branch was not less talented given the freedom,” the minister said.

The Law Minister’s announcement in this regard came after the slain minister’s wife Minati Das sought an appointment with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to demand a CBI probe into the murder. Earlier, Das’s son and daughter had also through media appealed for a CBI probe into the case.

Stating that the Crime Branch would do the probe thoroughly and professionally to unearth all angles and motives behind the murder case, the Law Minister ridiculed the previous BJD government for not being able to provide justice to the family members of a former Cabinet minister.

The CB, which conducted the probe into Das murder case during the BJD regime, has submitted the charge sheet in a trial court at Jharsuguda against Gopal Krushna Das, the prime accused in the case. The investigating agency had examined several witnesses.

However, the investigation overlooked crucial angles like whether some other people were involved or the persons behind the murder case. Many people do not believe that only Gopal Krushna Das masterminded and executed the crime, a senior lawyer said. Sources said a two-member CB team, comprising a new investigating officer ASP Vijay Mallick and DSP Diptimayee Mallick, visited Das’s residence at Sarbahal in Jharsuguda and recorded the statements. They have so far recorded the statements of Dipali Das and Bishal Das, the daughter and son of Naba Kishore Das.

Naba Kishore Das, then Health Minister, was shot at by a policeman on January 29, 2023, at Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district. He was later on the day declared dead at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar.