Vikash Sharma

The broad daylight assassination of Odisha Health Minister Naba Das by an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) has not only shocked the state but also has raised several questions on the existing security mechanism for high-profile leaders.

While addressing the press for the first time since the murder of Naba Das, the Odisha DGP, Sunil Bansal, on Thursday said that many incidents do occur even though the probability is 0.0001 per cent and nobody can think or anticipate that such incidents can occur. Its only Lord Jagannath who knows. The murder of Naba Das was one of its kind.

Our focus is now to ensure how to prevent such incidents in future and what should be our response as a citizen and police officer, said the DGP.

DGP Sunil Bansal said that preliminary deliberations with experts have started and soon discussions will be held with top agencies like the Special Protection Group (SPG), which is entrusted with the task of providing proximate security to the Prime Minister of India.

“We will review the SOP and good practices followed by the SPG and to what extent we can implement those in Odisha. We will share what will be the outcome from such deliberations,” said Bansal.

Also Read: Naba Das assassination probe to take time, CFSL team to assist, says Odisha top cop

Confession Of Accused ASI Gopal Krushna Das

While addressing a presser, Odisha DGP Sunil Bansal today said that who is criminal is known and if we go by this and as well the confession, we can file the chargesheet in one day. But our investigation is open to include all angles or anything what we might not be seeing right now, said Bansal.

“Mere confession is generally not sufficient for conviction,” said Bansal.

Security Of Naba Das

Those who are in public sphere; protection is given to them for various reasons. As Naba Das was a minister and held a responsible position, provision for security was made accordingly. As per the provision and procedure, security including PSO, escort, pilot was also there on the day of the incident and we are investigating all aspects, said DGP.

Motive Behind Naba Das Murder

“Motive is something that is hidden in the mind of a person and there is no machine to read somebody’s mind,” said Odisha DGP. To ascertain the exact motive, we need to go into the details of circumstances including the career of the accused ASI till the day of incident.

ASI Gopal Das And Bipolar Disorder

The wife of the accused ASI had informed about her husband’s bipolar disorder soon after the incident. But did it contribute to the crime? the DGP questioned.

“There are a lot of people in society who have such disorders. But whether the ASI was suffering from bipolar disorder on the day of the incident on January 29 is a technical question and I am not competent to answer this. Only experts can say to what extent it was a contributory factor,” the DGP said.

(Reported by Alok Mohanty)

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