The Odisha Minister murder case has been officially closed after the Crime Branch (CB) provided a detailed chargesheet in the Jharsuguda SDJM court on Friday. According to the CB, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Gopal Krishna Das had carefully planned and pre-planned the murder of then Health Minister Naba Kishore Das on January 29, and was in his right mind when committing the crime.
The chargesheet was filed with Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with an additional charge pertaining to the Arms Act of India. There had been family members of Gopal Das claiming that he was suffering from bipolar disorder, however, medical examinations conducted by the Director of Medical Education and Training under the supervision of a medical board found no active psychopathology in the accused. Furthermore, CB officials ascertained from local people as well as colleagues that Gopal Das was in a normal mental condition and was very cooperative during the investigation.
Moreover, CB also stated that through thorough investigation and evaluation of evidence such as oral witness accounts, medical observations, cyber forensic opinions, and ballistic reports it was ascertained that Gopal Das had developed a personal animosity and feeling of danger towards the deceased minister. This resulted in him forming a plan to murder the minister, which he eventually executed.
Though the investigations are complete and the charge sheet has been filed, CB mentioned that some reports need to be obtained and some formalities have to be followed before completely closing the case.
Following the murder, the political opposition had raised their doubts of conspiracy behind the crime. Even though CB found no such evidence to support these claims, the investigation led to finding that Gopal Das had developed a deep grudge and had meticulously planned and executed the crime.
