Bhubaneswar: The BJP government of Odisha has reopened the Naba Das murder case with a Crime Branch team led by an additional SP visiting Jharsuguda to record the statements of over 15 individuals. Though a fresh probe into the case has begun at the instance of the new government and is also wanted by the family of Das, who was shot dead by an ASI of police on January 29, 2023 in Brajraj Nagar, questions are being asked if the new Crime Branch team would be able to ask the right kind of questions of senior IPS officer Arun Bothra was who had investigated the case earlier. Senior BJP leader and Sambalpur MLA Jaynarayan Mishra has been critical of Bothra and demanded a CBI inquiry into the murder case.
Bothra, a former Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of Odisha Crime Branch (CID-CB) and a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer is currently at the centre of a controversy following his post on ‘X’ about a court giving ‘clean chit’ to actress Rhea Chakraborty in connection with the suspicious death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The Odisha-cadre IPS officer was emphatic that despite criticism Mumbai Police had conducted a professional investigation into Rajput’s case. Taking to his personal ‘X’ handle, Bothra wrote “The #SushantSinghRajput case highlights the perils of social media vigilantes meddling in criminal investigations.’ He said that four years ago, countless social media accounts, egged on by TV anchors, had vilified the MumbaiPolice with baseless accusations but now it’s clear that the police conducted a solid, professional probe.
Notably, Bothra was originally in charge of the probe into the murder of former minister Naba Kishore Das. That investigation led to a series of inquiries, prompting a fresh probe by the Crime Branch. Consequently, Bothra’s remarks have sparked debate across the sate about their underlying messages.
Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra targeted Bothra alleging that investigation into Naba Das case was deliberately misdirected to protect influential individuals who were linked to the crime. Mishra claimed that had the probe been conducted properly, several high-profile individuals would have been exposed, leading to serious consequences for them. He alleged that to protect these individuals, the investigation was intentionally manipulated, and the real culprits were never brought to justice. Mishra demanded that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He asserted that only an independent and impartial probe by a national agency could uncover the true motive behind the murder.
This is not the first time that the Odisha Crime Branch’s probe into the Naba Das murder case has come under scrutiny. The BJD government had earlier claimed that ASI Gopal Das, who shot the minister, was mentally unstable, a theory that was met with scepticism by the Opposition. The BJP has maintained that the assassination was politically motivated and involved a larger conspiracy. Orissa High Court had nominated a retired judge to monitor crime branch investigation into the case.
While a Crime Branch team is looking anew into the case there is a lot of scepticism over its ability to unearth the truth as the officers carrying out the probe may not be able to grill as senior IPS officer like Arun Bothra who had handled the case initially but whose work was roundly criticized by the BJP which was then in the opposition. Hence, the demand for a CBI inquiry into the high profile case as the central agency, according to leaders like Jaynarayan Mishra, can really bring the truth out and get answers to the many unanswered questions with regard to the killing of Das.
