Odisha minister murder accused to undergo narco-analysis, polygraph tests in Gujarat

The dismissed policeman who allegedly shot dead Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das last month will undergo narco-analysis and polygraph tests as part of the investigation, officials said.

A court in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district on Wednesday extended the police remand of the accused, Gopal Das, till February 13.

The Judicial Magistrate First Class court at Jharsuguda has allowed the Crime Branch (CB) probing the case to conduct the narco-analysis and polygraph tests on the dismissed policeman after the accused agreed to the proposal, Gopal Das’s lawyer Harishankar Agarwal told reporters.

A narco-analysis test involves intravenous administration of a drug that causes the subject to enter into a stage of anaesthesia, during which the person becomes less inhibited and is more likely to divulge information, which would usually not be revealed in the conscious state.

In a polygraph test, efforts are made to ascertain whether the subject is lying or not by tracking breathing rate, blood pressure, perspiration and heart rate, while the person is asked various questions.

An official said that the CB along with the accused has already left for Kolkata from where they will fly to Gandhinagar.

Earlier, Gopal Das has undergone several other tests conducted by a team of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, New Delhi.

One of the tests was done to ascertain his mental condition as the accused person’s wife claimed that her husband was suffering from bipolar disorder that causes extreme mood swings ranging from depressive lows to manic highs.

Meanwhile, Odisha Director General of Police S K Bansal along with Justice J P Das, the retired high court judge who is supervising the investigation, for the first time visited Gandhi Chowk area in Brajrajnagar where Gopal Das shot at the minister.

Bansal said, “It will take some more time for completion of the investigation. The Crime Branch has been investigating the case under the supervision of Justice JP Das.” The Crime Branch had on Tuesday recreated the crime scene with the accused at the spot.

Justice Das said, “The CB investigation is on track. We are waiting for the psychological test reports.” On January 29, Gopal Das had fired two rounds from his service revolver at the minister and one bullet pierced his chest. He died in a hospital in Bhubaneswar the same day.