The Crime Branch of the Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID), Odisha on Friday submitted a preliminary chargesheet against dismissed Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Gopal Das, accused in the murder case of then health minister Naba Das.The crime branch filed a 544-chargesheet in the Jharsuguda district court against the dismissed ASI Gopal Das in connection with the high-profile murder case on January 29 this year, said remand advocate Dayandihi Chand. According to the chargesheet, Naba Das was killed by Gopal Das at Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda on January 29. “The accused fired on the chest of the minister from a very close range,” read the chargesheet.
As per the chargesheet, the accused has been charged under Sections 307, 302, and 27 (1) of the Arms Act, Chand said.The police arrested the accused Gopal Das on the spot following the murder.The Crime Branch team reached Jharsuguda on Thursday from Bhubaneswar to submit the chargesheet.
According to the chargesheet, a total of 89 witnesses’ statements were recorded against the accused Gopal Das during the course of the investigation, Chand said.Naba Das had been the Health and Family Welfare Minister of Odisha since 2019. He was a three-time MLA from the Jharsuguda constituency and was said to be an influential leader in the area.
Minister Naba Das was shot at in Brajarajnagar in the Jharsuguda district and succumbed to his bullet injuries in Bhubaneswar Hospital.