Sambalpur: Senior Odisha BJP MP Suresh Pujari Friday claimed that the 543-page chargesheet filed by the Crime Branch in the murder case of former health minister Naba Kishore Das is nothing but ‘waste paper’ and the agency tried to hide the truth. Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of police Gopal Das gunned down Naba Kishore Das January 29 in stable mind due to some personal grudge and anguish, the Crime Branch which is investigating the case said in the chargesheet filed in a Jharsuguda court May 26. “After studying the chargesheet thoroughly, I feel that the Crime Branch had put in considerably less effort to uncover the truth behind the murder than they did to conceal it,” Pujari told a press conference here.
He said he got a copy of the chargesheet only Thursday. “Several critical gaps exist in the chargesheet which will help the accused come out. The investigation is a futile effort and the chargesheet is waste paper,” Pujari said. The Crime Branch has mentioned three incidents, including an altercation between the accused and Naba Das’s followers, to support its claim that the police officer had a grudge against the minister. “These reasons are insufficient to drive someone to commit a crime like murder,” said Pujari who is also a lawyer. He said the investigating agency is yet to trace the bullet that killed the minister. “The Crime Branch has not also verified the call record of the accused. Had they done it, the direction of the investigation would have changed. If the conspiracy angle in the case is investigated, big criminals can be brought to justice,” the BJP leader said. The police officer had allegedly opened fire at the minister at Brajarajnagar Gandhi Chowk when he was on an official visit to Jharsuguda district.