CB likely to rope in experts from abroad to help in probe

Bhubaneswar: The crime branch, probing the high-profile murder of minister Naba Kisore Das by ASI Gopal Das, is exploring the feasibility of consulting some forensic psychologists abroad to ascertain the veracity of the accused’s statements. Gopal has already undergone a layered voice analysis (LVA) test and forensic psychological assessment by a team of experts from Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Delhi, at Jharsuguda.
Besides, Gopal was taken to the directorate of forensic science (DFS) at Gandhinagar in Gujarat for his polygraph and narco-analysis tests. All the test reports have been sent to the Jharsuguda district court by the testing authorities.
“Our investigation is still open. We are planning to share the case details and reports of various tests with some foreign experts, either in the US or London, for their feedback. A final decision on this will be taken after discussion with top state government officials,” a senior Crime Branch official said.
Even as the probe agency is yet to reach a conclusion to ascertain Gopal’s exact motive of killing Naba, the DFS experts upon examination of his replies during the tests do not think he conspired with anyone to eliminate the big shot of the ruling BJD over political or was there any business rivalry. Crime Branch sources said Gopal’s replies during the narco-analysis and polygraph tests were not deceptive. “During the tests, Gopal reportedly reiterated that his sole motive of killing Naba was his hatred against the minister for his alleged unethical and corrupt practices. While undergoing the narco-analysis test, Gopal claimed himself to be a rebel, CB sources said.