Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das in CM Biju Patnaik’s cabinet has been shot from point-blank range by an ASI of the Odisha Police in Brajrajnagar. Suffering deadly wounds Das continues to remain critical and has been airlifted to Bhubaneswar from the city where he was shot.
On the other hand, the police have detained the ASI who has been identified as Gopal Das. Reportedly Gopal Das opened 4-5 rounds of fire on the minister as soon as got down from the car to attend an event.
Apprising the media over the matter Brajrajnagar SDPO Gupteshwar Bhoi said, “The officer has shot at the Health Minister from his Official revolver, the intention behind the shooting is not known yet, anything will be commented on only after the initial rounds of interrogation.”
Who is Naba Kishore Das and how much influence does he hold in Odisha’s Politics?
Das’s first-ever bid to reach the assembly failed back in 2004 when he fought from Jharsuguda’s seat on Congress’ ticket, however, won it the next time he contested in 2009. He was re-elected in 2014 again from Congress’ ticket and remained in the position for a record third time after successfully contesting the 2019 elections this time from BJD.
He is one of the most influential leaders in Patnaik’s cabinet and Odisha’s politics. Not just that he is also one of the wealthiest ministers of Odisha. In banks across Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar, and Jharsuguda, Odisha’s prominent cities, Das collectively holds a sum amounting to more than ₹45 Lakhs in total. Health Minister has 70 vehicles which cost near about ₹15 crores, including a luxurious ₹1.14 crores Mercedes Benz.
Odisha Health Minister shot at by police officer
Recently he made a huge buzz in the national media after he donated a ‘Kalash’ worth over ₹1 crore to Maharashtra’s Shani Shingnapur Temple, which was made of 1.17 KG of gold and 5 KG of silver.
Das’s name has also been engulfed in a few controversies, but the biggest buzz was created when he was caught watching porn during one of 2015’s Vidhan Sabha sessions. The news created a huge ruckus across the country and posed trouble for the Congress that led to his suspension from the house for a week by then Vidhan Sabha Speaker Niranjan Pujari.
However, speaking in his defence Das while interacting with the media said, “I haven’t watched porn ever in my entire lifetime. While browsing over my phone it accidentally got played, as soon as it cropped over my screen, I shut that down.”
Cut to the shooting on Das, based on the reports quoting the eyewitnesses huge crowd gathered as soon as Das reached the spot and it was when ASI Gopal Das shot him from point-blank range and tried to flee from the spot.
Odisha’s CM and BJD’s top leader Naveen Patnaik has condemned the attack. He said I am astonished to hear about the incident. Crime Branch has launched a high-level probe into the matter, whereas the senior officials have been instructed to reach the scene of the crime to take detailed note of the entire matter.