Breaking his silence of five days after the incident – which raised many questions – the DGP said it will take some more time to unravel the complete details even as some facts have come to the fore.
With investigators yet to determine the motive behind the murder of Odisha health and family welfare minister Naba Kisore Das, Director General of Police (DGP) Sunil Kumar Bansal said Friday that the Crime Branch is looking into “various circumstances with an open mind”.
Breaking his silence of five days after the incident – which raised many questions – the DGP said it will take some more time to unravel the complete details even as some facts have come to the fore. “The motive behind the crime has not been determined yet. It would be inconclusive to say as to which direction the investigation would proceed. A principle of a good investigation is that all options are open. We will not close our minds. Whatever evidence, clue or indication emerges during the probe, we will take it to a logical conclusion,” the DGP said at a news conference.
Senior BJD leader and state minister Naba Kisore Das died in hospital on January 29, hours after he was shot at from point-blank range by a police officer at Brajrajnagar in Jharsuguda district. According to police sources, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Gopal Das opened fire at Naba Das at Gandhi Chowk near Brajrajnagar town around 12.15 pm, minutes before the minister was to attend a programme.
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On Friday, Crime Branch sleuths searched the rented house of the accused ASI in Brajrajnagar.
Political slugfest over the issue turned murkier on Friday with senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Jayanarayan Mishra giving up his two personal security officers (PSOs) citing that he has lost faith in the Odisha Police. “There were several incidents in the past due to which I lost faith in the Odisha Police. I don’t need security,” Mishra said. He also sought security from central forces and also expressed concern over the safety of the accused officer.
Asked about the conspiracy theories alleged by the Opposition and by supporters of the slain minister, DGP Bansal said the objective of the investigation is to find it out. “Who is the criminal is known to all. If we go by the confession of the accused, we would have filed the chargesheet right away. But mere confession is also not sufficient for conviction. The purpose of the probe is to rule out any angle or any purpose which we may not be seeing right now,” he said.
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DGP Bansal also said that jumping to any conclusion is not good and everyone should go by evidence and not by figments of imagination or wild allegations. Commenting on the possible motive, Bansal said motive is something which is hidden in the mind of a person and there is no machine that can read the mind of a person. “To judge the motive, we need to examine the entire circumstance from different aspects,” he added.
To carry out a scientific investigation, the top cop said they have sought the help of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) while officials of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs have also assured all help.
The CFSL’s help has been sought to conduct forensic psychological assessment and layered voice analysis test of the accused ASI to learn about his mental state. On the claim that the accused officer suffered from bipolar disorder, Bansal said what is crucial is whether his disorder contributed to the crime.
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“His wife made a statement on the day of the incident. Usually, a statement given on the same day immediately after the incident says a lot. We need to find out whether he was suffering from bipolar disorder on the morning of the crime. It is a very technical question and I am not competent to answer it,” the DGP said. He claimed that the security detail of the slain minister on January 29 was as per procedure.
On the Crime Branch’s claim about recovering hand-written pieces of papers in which the accused cop has “noted down in detail his motive” behind killing the minister, the DGP said it would be premature to comment on it without forensic examination.
