Odisha minister’s murder: Accused ex-ASI shifted to Choudwar jail after he raised security concerns, say police

Senior police officers said following the “security concerns” raised by the accused, the prisons department made a request to the JMFC court at Jharsuguda. He was shifted following approval of the court.

The ASI had opened fire at the minister from his service pistol, at Gandhi Chhak in Brajrajnagar of Jharsuguda district, where the minister had gone to attend an event on January 29. Hours later, the minister had succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar.

Deputy IG (prisons) Subhakanta Mishra said the superintendent of Choudwar jail will make arrangements for his security. “He (Das) will be kept in a separate cell. Like many other prisoners, he can also be produced in court over video conferencing with the approval of the court,” Mishra said.

In Choudwar jail, Gopal Das will be kept under CCTV surveillance and guards will also keep a vigil on his movements.

The Crime Branch had produced him before the court at Jharsuguda, where his confession statement was recorded under section 164 of the CrPC.

The Crime Branch, which had taken the accused on remand for 13 days in three phases, is yet to reveal the motive behind the high-profile killing. On Monday, Das was sent to judicial custody after the end of his third remand period of five days. He was taken to Gandhinagar in Gujarat for conducting polygraph and narco-analysis tests. The investigative agency had also conducted psycho analysis and layered voice analysis tests of the accused.

Odisha minister of state (home ) Tusharkanti Behera refused to comment when reporters asked him about progress of the investigation in the case.