Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 29: The Odisha health and family welfare minister Naba Kishore Das, was on Sunday succumbed to the injuries he sustained from a bullet shot by an assistant sub-inspector of police who was arrested on the spot. The reason for Gopal Das firing at the minister from almost point blank range was not immediately known.
The minister who was critically injured after being shot at by the police officer, later died in hospital. Naba Kishore Das was shot in the chest when he was on his way to attend a programme. He was airlifted to the Apollo Hospital in Bhubaneswar where he succumbed to his injuries.
The hospital said the bullet had injured the minister’s heart and caused internal bleeding. “The injuries were repaired, and steps were taken to improve the pumping of the heart. He was given urgent ICU care. But despite best of efforts, he could not be revived and succumbed to his injuries,” the hospital said in a statement.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik offered his condolences and said Naba Kishore Das’ death was a great loss to Odisha. “He was an asset for both the government and the party. He has successfully carried many initiatives in the health department to the benefit of the people,” the Chief Minister said. He also directed the crime branch to investigate the incident.
Gopal Das had fired two rounds at the minister and was soon after caught by the locals and was taken into custody, the police said. Witnesses claimed the minister was shot just as he stepped out of his vehicle. The motives behind the attack are still unclear. Videos from the spot showed Mr Das bleeding from the chest with people trying to lift the injured minister, who seemed unconscious, and place him on the front seat of a car.
Gopal Das was posted in the Gandhi Chowk police outpost of Brajarajnagar. He had earlier served the Minister in the capacity of his personal security officer. On Sunday afternoon, Gopal Das fired from his service revolver at Gandhi Chowk where the Minister was stepping out of his vehicle to wave to his supporters. Mr. Naba Kishore Das had been scheduled to inaugurate an office in Brajarajanagar.
“As per preliminary information, the Minister was going to attend a function within Brajarajnagar police station limits. Around 12.10 p.m., when he came out of the vehicle, one person opened fire at him from a very close range,” said Deepak Kumar, Inspector General of Police (northern) range. “The inspector in charge of Brajarajnagar police station and a constable immediately overpowered the assailant. After two rounds of fire, the two police personnel managed to change the direction of his revolver-holding hand towards the sky. In this process, the inspector in charge sustained injuries and another person was hit by a bullet,” he added.
Hit by two rounds of bullets, the Minister collapsed. He was rushed to the Jharsuguda District Headquarters hospital, after which he was flown to Bhubaneswar for further treatment at the Apollo Hospital. Despite the doctors’ efforts, he was declared dead around 8 p.m. Sunday evening. “It was found that a single bullet had entered and exited the body, injuring the heart and left lung and causing massive internal bleeding and injury,” the hospital bulletin said.
The crime branch of the State police has been ordered to probe the fatal attack. Additional Director General of Police Arun Bothra, along with a seven-member crime branch team, rushed to the spot for further investigation. The Odisha police did not issue any statement regarding the motivations of the shooter, his mental condition, or whether the murder was pre-planned.
Family members of the accused police officer said he had been suffering from mental depression. A Berhampur-based psychiatrist who was treating him also confirmed that Gopal Das was under his treatment for manic depressive disorder.
“The person had recovered from the disease due to regular medication. However, there was every chance of relapsing of the disorder if prescribed medicines are not taken regularly. Since he was posted away in Jharsuguda district, I have no idea if he was taking medicines as per advice,” said Chandrasekhar Tripathy, the psychiatrist treating Gopal Das.
The deceased minister was a three-time MLA from the Jharsuguda Assembly constituency, and one of the richest politicians in Odisha. He had a flourishing transport business in the mineral-rich Jharsuguda region and owned about 70 high-value vehicles, according to his property statement.
He had a meteoric rise in politics, having won three consecutive elections from Jharsuguda since 2009 — twice as a Congress candidate and once on the BJD ticket. Once the working president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee, he switched sides just before the 2019 elections. Upon his victory, he was made the State’s Health and Family Welfare Minister in the BJD government.
