Gopal took 179 days of leave for bipolar disorder treatment: Min

Bhubaneswar: Gopal Das, accused of killing Naba Das, has been on unauthorised leave from work for 179 days in two phases in 2014 and 2015 to receive treatment for his ‘bipolar affective disorder.’ He later regularized his absence by submitting medical certificates, reveals a reply in the assembly by minister of state for home Tusharkanti Behera on Monday.
Gopal, the sacked assistant sub-inspector of police, had first remained absent for 60 days from February 3 to April 3, 2014. On April 4 that year, Gopal submitted certificates regarding his treatment at MKCG Medical College and Hospital for bipolar disorder and fitness certificates to re-join service. On the basis of these documents, police authorities allowed him to resume duty while his unauthorised absence were regularised as earned leaves (EL).
For a second time he remained absent from duty for the same reasons from March 1 to June 27, 2015. He had availed eight days of casual leave from February 20, 2015 but did not join work till June 27 that year. After 119 days’ absence, he requested the authorities on June 28, 2015 to regularise his leaves as EL. The application was approved again, the minister said responding to two separate questions by Narasingha Mishra (Congress) and Subash Chandra Panigrahi (BJP).
The minister’s reply shows Gopal had never applied leave beforehand citing his treatment. Hours after Gopal shot Naba, his wife and a doctor in Berhampur had separately spoken about his history of mental illness. The Crime Branch had got Gopal examined by a medical board comprising mental health experts. It had petitioned courts to take Gopal to NIMHANS, Bengaluru, but was rejected twice.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik last month had told the assembly that Odisha has been trying to take help of FBI to carry out Gopal’s behavioural analysis.