Kolkata: When he give up the Congress in 2019, Naba Kisore Das, who was fatally shot by his former private safety officer (PSO) Sunday, advised then Congress president Rahul Gandhi that the individuals of his constituency wished him to hitch the Biju Janata Dal.
“The individuals and voters of my space need that I ought to contest the following election 2019 from BJD as they need our space to develop and I ought to be part of fingers with Shri Naveen ji, Chief Minister of Odisha,” Das, a three-time MLA and the present minister for well being and household welfare within the Patnaik authorities, wrote in his letter to Gandhi on 16 January.
Since then Das, who died after he was shot in his constituency, Jharsuguda, on Sunday afternoon, has risen to be one among its most senior leaders.
In a press release it launched Sunday night, Apollo Hospital, the place Das was being handled, confirmed his loss of life.
“The accidents had been repaired, and steps had been taken to enhance the pumping of the center. He was given pressing ICU care. However regardless of better of efforts, he couldn’t be revived and succumbed to his accidents,” the assertion mentioned.
From a frontrunner of the College students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the chief of the Odisha Congress to his place as one of the crucial trusted ministers of the Naveen Patnaik cupboard, Das, the richest minister within the Patnaik authorities, has seen a meteoric political rise.
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‘Uncommon’
On Sunday, Das, who grew to become minister for the primary time in 2019, was shot whereas attending an official programme. The suspect, recognized as sub-inspector Gopal Das, was allegedly the well being minister’s PSO a couple of years in the past and has since been taken into custody.
The bullet hit Das within the chest, police say. Two different individuals, one among them a policeman, have additionally been wounded within the incident.
It’s but unclear why the suspect fired the minister, police say. “The ASI has been taken into custody and his interrogation is underway,” Brajrajnagar Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Gupteswar Bhoi advised reporters. “We are able to’t say immediately why he took such a step”,
A video that has gone viral exhibits Das greeting his supporters at Gandhi Chowk, Brajrajnagar, earlier than he collapses close to his automobile. As a crimson stain spreads over his white shirt, he lies surrounded by supporters, gasping for air.
In line with eyewitnesses, not less than 4-5 rounds of bullets had been fired.
The incident has left a number of questions in its wake — the chief amongst them regarding safety.
“When ministers journey to their constituencies, the safety equipment is in place, I don’t suppose there was any break in that. We’re ready to see what the investigation reveals. It’s so uncommon for one thing like this to occur in Odisha,” BJD Member of Parliament Kalikesh Singh Deo advised ThePrint.
On its half, the BJD has known as the assault “dastardly”. “That is very tragic,” Pinaki Mishra, one other BJD MP, advised ThePrint earlier within the day.
Richest minister with over 140 vehicles
An influential chief from Jharsuguda — often known as the commercial belt of Odisha — Das started his profession as a frontrunner of the SFI, however later joined the Congress.
A legislation graduate, Das had a number of flourishing companies — amongst them mining and transportation.
In his annual property declaration in 2021, Das declared immovable and movable property value Rs 34 crore. Amongst them was a fleet of 145 vehicles — 80 belonging to him and 65 to his spouse Minati Das — valued at 15 crore. Whereas most of these vehicles had been industrial autos, the record included a Mercedes Benz, declared underneath his spouse’s title.
Requested about his possessions, Das mentioned: “My household has a number of companies. My son can be into enterprise. All of us pay earnings tax…What’s fallacious with proudly owning a number of autos?”
Additionally amongst his declared properties had been three licensed weapons — a .32 revolver, a double-barrel rifle, and a 12-bore gun.
He additionally listed a number of properties in New Delhi, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Jharsuguda, and Rairakhol in Odisha value over Rs 2.28 crore.
Like his vehicles, his election campaigns additionally had a splash of glamour. His marketing campaign in 2009 — the primary time he contested the Odisha meeting election as a Congress candidate — had Bollywood actors Shakti Kapoor and Ashrani campaigning for him.
Das received the seat thrice — two of these occasions a Congress candidate.
In 2019, he was made a minister within the Naveen Patnaik authorities — the primary time he grew to become a minister. He additionally managed to carve a big place within the cupboard, even retaining his portfolio within the June 2022 cupboard reshuffle.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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