JHARSUGUDA: Thousands bid a tearful adieu to Naba Kishore Das whose mortal remains were consigned to flames with full state honour here on Monday. Das’ last rites were performed at Kherual area in Jharsuguda at around 5 pm on the day.
The minister’s body reached around 11.40 am and was taken to his residence. Several ministers and senior leaders of BJD visited Das’ residence where rituals were performed. At around 1 pm, the body was taken to Kherual for the last rites. Amid chants of slokas, Das’ son Bishal lit the funeral pyre in the presence of ministers Niranjan Pujari, Ranendra Pratap Swain, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Rohit Pujari, Rita Sahoo, Tukuni Sahu and 5T secretary VK Pandian.
Besides, Prasanna Acharya, Susant Singh, Sanjit Mohanty, Bargarh MP Suresh Pujari and industrialsts were present at the cremation site where 5,000 people had gathered. Talking to TNIE, minister Rohit Pujari said, the loss of a leader like Naba Kisore Das is irreparable for the state. He was not only an influential political leader but an emphatic public figure.“The crowd present at his funeral is a proof of his popularity. It will take all of us a long time to deal with the loss,” he said.
Das breathed his last on Sunday evening, hours after he was shot by an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) at Brajarajnagar, where he had gone to attend an event. In honour of the departed leader, most shops, business establishments and educational institutions in the district remained closed on the day. Earlier, an FIR was lodged by Brajrajnagar IIC Pradyumna Kumar Swain against the accused.
The 52-year-old dismissed ASI has been booked under section 302 of the IPC besides 27(1) of the Arms act. As per the FIR, minister Das was scheduled to inaugurate the office of the chairperson/ vice-chairperson of Brajrajnagar in the Lift and Shift building at Gandhi Chowk, Brajrajnagar at around 2:40pm on the day of the incident. Police personnel of different units were mobilised and deployed from 10:30 am onwards on law and order duty.
When the minister’s car stopped near the building at around 12:15 pm and he got down, Das of Gandhi Chowk police outpost, who was deployed for traffic clearance duty came close to the minister and opened fire from his service pistol from a very close range with a ‘clear intention to kill him.’ Subsequently, the complainant along with constable KC Pradhan of Rampur police outpost caught hold of the assailant and during the tussle that followed he fired two more rounds of bullet from his 9 mm pistol.
While the second round injured the complainant on his ring finger, another man identified as Jibanlal Nayak of Kalinagar also received injury. However, they managed to overpower the ASI and disarm him, said the FIR.
Will cooperate with police, says Gopal’s wife
Berhampur: Jayanti, the wife of accused Gopal Das, who shot dead minister Naba Das in Brajarajnagar, on Monday said she will extend all cooperation to the police during investigation into the case. Jayanti, who said she was shocked by the incident, has shifted to her native Jaleswarkhandi village near Gopal’s residence at Ankuli. She said her family has been feeling insecure at Ankuli. “We felt insecure and decided to shift to our native place,” said Jayanti while reiterating her husband was suffering from psychological issues. “We had asked him (Gopal) to take his medicines on time but he used to miss it sometimes. He used to send us money and behaved normally,” she said. Sources said a Crime Branch team will reach Berhampur to question Gopal’s family.