Bhubaneswar: In a startling revelation, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Sambalpur, Jayanarayan Mishra, has alleged the involvement of two senior government officials—an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer—in the assassination of senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and former health minister Naba Kishore Das at Brajarajnagar on January 29, 2023.
Mishra also implicated two prominent politicians in the conspiracy, adding a new layer of intrigue to the high-profile case.
According to Mishra, the IPS officer made a suspicious trip to Jharsuguda just days before Das’s murder, allegedly to orchestrate the plot.
“The IPS officer against whom allegations have been levelled will try to mislead the probe. This officer orchestrated the entire assassination by visiting Jharsuguda shortly before Naba Kishore Das was shot dead,” Mishra claimed. He also suggested that Das’s murder could be linked to political dealings or disputes within the coal business.
“An investigation is meaningless if it fails to establish the motive and identify those behind the crime,” Mishra said, reiterating his party’s dissatisfaction with the current Crime Branch probe. “We have already rejected the Crime Branch investigation into the former minister’s death,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Dipali Das, the daughter of the late Naba Kishore Das, stated that the family is contemplating writing to the Odisha government to demand a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“Two years have passed since the incident, and several questions remain unanswered. We believe the truth will emerge if the CBI conducts a detailed investigation into all aspects of the case,” she said.
Mishra’s allegations were echoed by BJP MP Pradeep Purohit, who questioned the silence of Das’s family in demanding an impartial investigation earlier. “Assistant Police Sub-Inspector Gopal Das, the only accused arrested in Naba Kishore Das’s murder, is merely a pawn. There is a conspiratorial group behind this assassination,” Purohit said. He also alleged that the mastermind is someone who harbored ambitions of becoming the Chief Minister after Naveen Patnaik. “This is now proving to be true,” Purohit claimed.
The allegations have sent shockwaves through Odisha’s political landscape, with demands for transparency and justice growing louder. While the ruling BJD has yet to issue an official response, the accusations are likely to intensify the ongoing debate over governance, corruption, and political accountability in the state.
As the opposition pushes for a deeper investigation, all eyes are now on the state government’s next move.